Let Me In
by Kakashi500
Summary: Sasuke you have to tell somebody about this!" Sakura exclaimed. "I can't, and you can't either, promise me you won't tell." Sakura looked into his eyes and nodded. She regretted that promise; when Sasuke ran off, she fell to her knees crying.
1. Welcome To Konoha High

Chapter 1: Welcome To Konoha High

~Because maybe you're going to be the one that saves me,

After all you're my wonder wall~

**A/N I wanted to start this story, I will update the others as soon as I can, and expect the improved Sasuke's New Life to be out soon.**

Sakura walked into the classroom filled with students from different clicks, such as preps, Goths, jocks, etcetera. Her emerald orbs glanced around the physics class, she never expected to see some of this people in a class like this one. She walked up to the teacher, Kurenai, and handed her a note. She nodded approvingly and yelled,

"Attention, we have a new student joining us today, this is Sakura Haruno."

She gestured towards the pink-haired girl next to her desk. Sakura clutched a white binder to her chest that was covered by a red t-shirt. Her black pants matched her black flip-flops. The students in the class said their hellos and muttered hi, easily welcoming her to the class.

"Sakura, you may sit next to Hinata, Hinata please raise your hand," Kurenai said to the shy girl in the center of the room.

A dark-haired girl raised her hand timidly while looking down, her face flushed red. Sakura smiled and walked over to the girl and sat next to her at the table.

"Hey, I'm Sakura," Sakura stated, holding out her hand.

"Hinata, " She replied back as she took her hand and shook it.

"Alright, I'm going to give you guys a worksheet, I expect it to be done by the _end of class_," Kurenai strained the last part.

Some students always tried to convince her to let them turn it in the next day, but she wasn't going to fall for it. She let that slide a few times, but not anymore, after all she needed to have some things to enter for grades for the day or else she would get into trouble. She passed out the worksheets as the students groaned with aggravation and frustration. Kurenai only chuckled at their sad attempt to change her mind.

"No complaining, just get it done," Kurenai stated.

Sakura went to work on her sheet, she was a natural when it came to science, she was fairly smart for her age and knew what she was doing. Hinata was just as smart but wasn't going through the problems quickly as Sakura was. She liked to make sure her answers are correct before she handed it to the teacher.

Setting her pencil aside, Sakura glanced over her work; when she was satisfied she stood up from her table and walked up to the teacher's desk. Kurenai glanced up from the pile of essays she was grading and looked at Sakura with wide eyes, who had the worksheet in her outstretched hand.

"Well, I'm impressed Sakura, you finished your worksheet even before Hinata," Kurenai complimented, "I have only one other student that finishes as fast as you do, great work."

"And who would that be?" Sakura inquired curiously.

"His name is Sasuke, he is a very bright student but he hardly ever talks nowadays."

"Really, I thought all the bright students were more of the talkers."

"Yeah, but he's different, I don't know what caused him to change. Look at me, I'm talking to you about someone you don't even know."

Sakura smiled as Kurenai took the paper from her hand, she turned swiftly on her heel and sauntered back over to her desk.

'_I'm curious to meet this kid,'_ Sakura thought as she sat down in her seat.

Hinata smiled and got up, going up to turn in her paper as well. As soon as she sat back down, Sakura turned to her and asked,

"Hey Hinata, do you know a kid named Sasuke?"

Hinata flinched slightly, as she sighed and looked up at Sakura. Sakura knew she did; just from her reaction, she was hiding something.

"Hinata, what is it?"

"Y-You're right, I-I do know him, h-he, used to hang out w-with me and my friends, but he suddenly stopped, I shouldn't be the one t-telling you this, you should ask Naruto."

"Naruto?"

Hinata turned red when Sakura mentioned his name again. Sakura wasn't oblivious to this fact and smiled slyly. Hinata noticed that smile and shifted nervously in her seat while twiddling her fingers.

"You like this Naruto don't you?"

"Y-Yes, p-promise you won't say a-anything."

"Don't worry I won't."

The bell rang signaling the end of the period; since Sakura came to school later in the day, it was now lunchtime. Sakura and Hinata walked out of the room as the others stayed behind to turn in their papers, some muttered 'I got an "F"' or 'that sucked'.

The duo walked to the large lunchroom, dodging several people that ran down the hall to be the first in line. Its like they wouldn't get anything to eat, but that's not the case, its all about the seating, they wanted good tables. Sakura pushed open the door and held as her and Hinata walked through.

The cafeteria was packed, most kids took their lunch and headed outside to eat. The two got in line and got their food, Hinata led Sakura over to a door that went outside. They walked to a table underneath a tall tree with freshly grown leaves on the branches. Sakura looked at the bodies that occupied several of the spots.

A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes noticed them first, she stood giving Sakura a full view of her outfit, a pair of blue jeans and a purple blouse. Her actions brought the attention of the others, a girl with chocolate brown hair put into buns, a boy that had the same eyes as Hinata, a blonde-headed boy with bright blue eyes, and a boy with a pineapple haircut.

"Hey Hinata, who's your friend?" the blonde haired girl asked.

"G-guys, this is Sakura, s-she is new here," Hinata stuttered.

"Hi, I'm Ino," Ino took the liberty of introducing herself, she knew Hinata was too shy to do it.

"Hi," Sakura replied back.

"This is Shikamaru the lazy ass," Ino chuckled gesturing to the boy with a pineapple haircut, Shikamaru only gazed lazily at them as he muttered 'troublesome'.

"I'm Tenten," The girl with the buns put in, then pointed to the boy next to her, "This is Neji, Hinata's cousin."

"I thought the looked alike," Sakura said as she smiled.

Suddenly a pair of blue eyes came up to look straight into hers. The blue-eyed boy then glanced up at her hair.

"Is that your natural hair color?"

Sakura sweet dropped at his question before answering,

"Yes, its my natural hair color and who might you be?"

"I'm Naruto, the greatest person you'll ever meet."

"What in being a moron?" Neji inquired, obviously amused when Naruto turned to him and glared angrily.

"You wanna go Neji?"

"Enough, knock it off," Tenten glared at the two before they childishly sat down and looked away from each other.

Sakura only giggled at them before taking a seat next to Hinata who sat next to Ino. Sakura then looked to Naruto, she was curious about this Sasuke kid and she wanted to ask about him. Gathering her courage, she finally managed to ask,

"Hey Naruto."

The blonde boy turned his attention to her, his eyes curiously wondering what she wanted.

"Uh, do you know about a boy named Sasuke?"

Naruto immediately stiffened and turned his gaze away from her, the others all looked at him in sympathy, they knew that Sasuke was his best friend and this was a very touchy subject.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, its probably right for you to know, especially if you are going to be hanging out with us, you'll need to know why I'm always off somewhere else," Naruto remarked sadly.

Sakura looked at the pained expression that was strewn across his face and immediately regretted ever bringing it up, even if she should know.

"You see, Sasuke, he lost his mom and his brother, they died trying to protect him from a man that broke into their house, this happened last year during our sophomore year," Naruto began, "He blames himself for what happened and so does his father, I don't know if he and his dad even talk anymore even if they are in the same house."

Sakura listened intently as Naruto revealed this information to her, she felt sorry for the boy, even if she hadn't met him.

"Sasuke became cold and distant from us, he just stopped talking to us one day and we didn't know why. I pushed him for a reason, until he finally told me, after that he hasn't spoken to us since, I'm about ready to give up on him."

Sakura's heart clenched at the thought of this boy giving up on one of his friends. She wanted to say something, anything to change his mind about what he was saying. But before she could say anything, she saw everyone's stare had gone somewhere else. She followed their gazes and they stopped on a boy, walking in the opposite direction of them.

The boy they stared upon wore black jeans with a chain hanging down the side of his right leg. His black zip-up hoodie hid the shirt he was wearing and the belt if he had one. He had the hood up over his head. Black eyeliner traced around his eyes, as if his eyes weren't already black enough, bags under his dull orbs showed he hardly got any sleep. Lastly he had two piercing near his bottom lip, called snakebites, they weren't full rings, just silver studs. His black shoulder-strap backpack hung at his side as he walked away.

"Who was that?" Sakura questioned.

"That, was Sasuke," Naruto replied.

**A/N Please read and review and tell me what you think, should I continue it or not?**


	2. You're Wasting Your Time

Chapter 2: You're Wasting Your Time

~Don't dull your life by missing this point~

Recap:

_The boy they stared upon wore black jeans with a chain hanging down the side of his right leg. His black zip-up hoodie hid the shirt he was wearing and the belt if he had one. He had the hood up over his head. Black eyeliner traced around his eyes, as if his eyes weren't already black enough, bags under his dull orbs showed he hardly got any sleep. Lastly he had two piercing near his bottom lip, called snakebites, they weren't full rings, just silver studs. His black shoulder-strap backpack hung at his side as he walked away._

_"Who was that?" Sakura questioned._

_"That, was Sasuke," Naruto replied._

Sakura looked up at Naruto, and then looked back to the boy named Sasuke, he had such a dark appearance, making him seem almost unapproachable. Her eyebrows scrunched up in frustration and slight anger. Before any of them knew it, Sakura hopped out of her place at the table and ran after him.

"SAKURA!! COME BACK YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME!!" Naruto yelled after her.

Sakura simply ignored his yells telling her to come back; she wanted to talk to Sasuke face to face. He had to know what pain he was putting his friends through. She continued running until she stopped and looked around, searching for him. Finally glancing toward a tree she spotted Sasuke leaning against it. A notebook was in his hand, a journal maybe, he was writing in it. All his attention was focused on that, he didn't notice anyone approaching, until a shadow loomed over him. Sasuke paused in his writing and looked up.

Sakura stood over him a frown plastered on her face. Sasuke only glanced at her before going back to writing in his journal. Sakura sighed angrily before saying,

"Are you just going to sit there?"

"I know what you are trying to do, and it's not going to work."

"What exactly do you think I'm doing?"

"Let's see, you were hanging with Naruto and the others, and I'm sure they told you about me and why I ignore them, you came over here, obviously angry that I'm not talking to them, wanting to get me to talk to them again."

Sakura looked at him with wide eyes.

"I've heard it all before and I don't want to hear it again."

"But..'

Sasuke cut in with an angry glare, she was definitely starting to get under his skin and it annoyed him to no end. Anger flashed through his eyes before he returned to his writing in his journal, not giving Sakura a second glance. She sighed with frustration and slammed her hand down onto his notebook, causing him to mess up his neat handwriting. He looked down as his bangs shadowed his eyes.

"Get your damn hand off of my notebook," He ordered darkly.

Sakura flinched as he said this, his voice was murderous and she was beginning to get scared, but she remained in her spot. Sasuke's nostrils flared as he looked up at her, fury evident in his dark orbs. Shoving her away, he stood up and grabbed his bag, before walking up to her and whispering in her ear.

"No one, touches my notebook, and you best remember that next time you decide to cross me, got it."

Sakura shivered from the close contact, and the way he said it scared her, she wasn't going to lie. Sasuke took a step back as he turned around and headed back to the school building. Sakura had no idea what to think, he was dark and he wouldn't let anyone in. She turned towards his retreating back as she thought to herself,

_'Just you wait Sasuke, I'm going to get you to open up to me, I'll find a way no matter what.'_

She nodded approvingly at her thoughts before returning to the table the others were sitting at, staring at her in disbelief. She looked confused at their reactions, she hadn't done anything wrong, or so she thought.

"What?" She questioned, her face formed with confusion.

"What you did, no one touches Sasuke's notebook," Naruto stated.

"Yeah, he was like that with it, even when he hung out with us," Ino put in.

"But why?" Was all she could say before the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch peirod.

"We'll have to tell you later, it's time to go," Tenten declared as she and the others stood up from their table, "What class do you have next?"

Sakura looked at her before grabbing her binder and pulling out her schedule.

"I have creative writing."

"I don't think any of us have that class with you," Ino stated as everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Its ok, I'll see you guys later."

Sakura waved as she grabbed her stuff and left. She walked back into the building working her way to her class. That is if she can even find it. Then she spotted Sasuke walking to a classroom and decided to follow him, she could always tell her teacher she got lost, she was new and could use that excuse.

Sasuke didn't realize she was following him or he didn't care, either way he kept walking at an even pace. He came to a stop outside a classroom and pulled open the door, Sakura stopped outside the room and watched as Sasuke took a seat near the window in the back of the room. Once again pulling out his journal and writing something that was on the board.

After looking at the room door, the sign said 'Creative Writing' in bold black letters. Sakura then realized that this was her class, and she had it with Sasuke. Smiling brightly she pulled open the door and sauntered inside, the teacher glancing up as she came up to the desk.

"Hi, you must be Sakura Haruno," The teacher said, "I'm Asuma, and I'll be your teacher for this class."

"So do I call you Asuma?"

Asuma chuckled and said  
"Yes, Asuma-sensei to be precise."

Sakura smiled at him before he looked at a piece of paper that has the seating chart on it.

"Alright, Sakura the only seat that hasn't been taken is the one next to Sasuke."

"That's okay, I don't mind."

Sakura smiled and walked down the row of desks, stopping in her tracks when she came to her desk. By that time, Sasuke had looked up and rolled his eyes at the pink haired girl. Before going back to writing in his journal. That's when Sakura noticed something in his eyes, sorrow laced with fear and it had appeared when he looked down at his writing.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

Sasuke ignored her as other students began filling the class. Each taking their respective seats and waiting for Asuma to began teaching. Sakura sat in silence, taking quick glances at Sasuke before Asuma directed their attention to the board. A small writing assignment to begin the class, the prompt read,

'Write a poem about an event in your life, or if you can't think of something make it up'

Sakura gazed over at Sasuke, now realizing what he must have written about, his family getting taken away from him. She sighed and began writing as soon as she grabbed a piece of paper from her binder. After she did that she set her gaze at her desk, occasionally looking at Sasuke. He had his chin resting on his left hand as he stared out the window. He had put his hood down, but his hair covered his left eye.

As soon as everyone had sat and completed their pre-write, Asuma stood from his desk. He walked to the front and leaned against it as he smiled.

"Now, today you will be putting together a small book of poems, its an individual project we will be working on for the next few days," He explained then put in, "But before we begin, would anyone like to share what they wrote for the pre-write."

When nobody raised their hands, a look of disappointment spread across his face. Sasuke noticing this raised his hand slowly. Asuma smiled and nodded his head.

"Sasuke, thank you for volunteering, please come to the front of the class and present."

Sasuke stood from his seat while grabbing his journal. He came to a stop next to Asuma and brought his notebook close to reading distance.

"Whenever you're ready."

Sasuke only nodded and looked to the black journal in his hands before beginning.

"This is titled, My Hell"

'I don't understand  
How you became so cold  
Why do you hate me?  
My mask I can't hold

Angry shouts fill the room  
Punches are thrown in fury  
You tell me I'm worthless  
Why are you so angry?

I can't stay here  
But I know I can't leave  
The threats you say  
Make me stay and grieve

I want to let go  
This life with you  
Is not worth living  
But what can I do

I've been broken  
Beyond repair  
Nothing can save me  
Life is unfair

The class stared upon Sasuke as he finished his poem. Sakura stared with sorrowful eyes, what had made him decide to write something like this. Something more was happening with Sasuke than he told Naruto.

"Very well done, full of emotion, care to explain what it's about?"

Sasuke stared at Asuma before stating,

"I'd rather not if you don't mind."

"Of course, you don't have to, you may take your seat."

Sasuke nodded and made his way back to his desk and sat down. Asuma looked around his class, his eyes questioning if anyone else would like to show their work. With a deep sigh he began speaking, beginning with the project they will be doing.

"Alright, this assignment is pretty simple, just make a book of about ten or fifteen poems. Put them together creatively though, I don't want just a stack of paper stapled together."

After he received confirms and understanding from his class he sent them to their work. Talking was allowed as long as they were working on what they were assigned and not just goofing off.

Sakura looked around the class and noticed some kids that had very large builds for their bodies. Football players maybe, but why would they be in a class like this. She shook her head and looked down at her paper and decided to get to her work just as Asuma stood from his desk.

"Class I need to go get something from the office, you better not disrupt my class room while I'm gone got it."

The class nodded immediately as he stepped out the door and left the teenagers to their work. But just as Asuma left, the football player, or so Sakura thought, stood from their desks and began to walk over to the side of the classroom where she was sitting. She watched as they came over to Sasuke and surrounded his desk. The captain, you could guess, saying,

"Hey emo kid, cut your self lately."

Sasuke ignored them as he continued writing, which angered the boy causing him to slam his hand on the desk.

"Hey I'm talking to you."

Sasuke only replied with,

"You can talk, but I don't have to listen."

The class laughed which infuriated the football player. Sasuke remained impassive as he just kept writing, not even fazed by the threats made by the teen standing before him. Sakura only watched in amazement as Sasuke riled up these guys without really doing anything.

"Hey, you better answer him," One of the others threatened before turning to the class, "And you guys better shut up."

The students shut their mouths quickly as the captain looked to Sasuke again.

"I'll ask you again emo kid, have you cut your self lately?"

"Why the fuck do I have to answer to you?"

The boy in question stared in amazement at the tone and language Sasuke used against him. No one had ever said anything like that to him before and he was bewildered.

"What did you say emo cutter?"

"I said, why the fuck do I have to answer to you? You don't control my life, or even know what my life is like, so stay the hell out of it."

Sasuke didn't let up in his speech as he went on.

"You think life is so fucking easy, I didn't ask for a lot of things to happen in my life but guess what they did, you're just an asshole that added to it. Do you get enjoyment from picking on people like me? You want me to cut myself; I'll do it right here and right now. I'll show you what you can't handle because you're afraid of messing up your supposedly perfect skin. Want me to go on?"

Sakura stared in shock at the words Sasuke said, the football players shook it off as a minor thing and walked away. Before the captain left, he stopped by Sakura's desk and began trying to flirt with her.

"Hey sweet thing, I'm Daisuke, head football player for the school, wanna go out Friday night?"

"Uh, no."

Daisuke was shocked, and apparently so was the class. No one had ever declined a date from the captain of the football team. Sasuke glanced over at Sakura with a slightly surprised look.

"I don't date guys who pick on others because of how they look, act or dress. Sasuke is right you're just an asshole."

Daisuke became angry and was about to retort when he heard a voice come from behind him.

"Is there a problem Daisuke?"

Asuma stood behind him as Daisuke shook his head no and headed back to his seat, the others following silently behind him. Sakura gazed quickly at Sasuke and noticed him staring at her. She turned bright red and looked away. She thought she definitely scored points with Sasuke just now.

The bell rang with a loud annoying sound, releasing the students from their classes. Sasuke stood slowly as all the students and even Asuma vanished from the classroom. Sakura was the only one that remained or so he thought. Just as he was about to walk out he heard Daisuke start to talk.

"Hey you pink-haired slut."

Sakura froze in place at the word he said, it stung hard and she felt as if she were about to break down. Sasuke turned around and saw her shoulders shaking. She was about ready to cry.

"Now, I'll take it back if you go out with me."

Daisuke slapped hands with his friends, but when she hadn't turned to answer him he made a reach to grab her shoulder and spin her around. But before he even touched her, a hand grabbed his wrist and pushed him back.

"Get out of here before you really piss me off."

Sasuke stood in between him and Sakura, Daisuke only laughed and turned away.

"Fine, keep the bitch."

They walked out of the classroom as Sakura's wall finally broke and she began to cry. Sasuke turned around and looked at her. He walked around so he stood in front of her. She was holding her arms to her as she cried. Sasuke didn't know what to do, he was never good at comforting people.

"Sakura, don't let them get to you."

Sakura jumped mildly surprised that she heard his voice instead of someone else's.

"You can't let what they say get to you Sakura. It's not worth it, they are only trying to make themselves feel better after you told them off earlier."

Sakura held back a slight laugh, but Sasuke heard it. Sakura wiped her eyes and looked up at Sasuke who was sitting on a desk. He was watching her as she wiped her eyes once more.

"Thanks Sasuke, but why would you try to comfort me, I mean I thought you never talked to anyone."

"Just because I don't talk or hang out with people doesn't mean I'm going to let the ones who made my life hell do it to someone else."

Sakura smiled and grabbed her stuff.

"I guess I should get to class, you wouldn't happen to know where the music room is, would you?"

"Yes, and only because I have that class next as well."

Sakura smiled as Sasuke stood and walked out of the classroom. She followed shortly after not wanting to be anymore late than she already was. Even if she was new, there was no excuse for seven minutes late. Sasuke led her to a room that was set off further from any of the others. Probably since it was a music class and it could get quite loud.

Sasuke opened the door and walked in as Sakura went in just after him.

**A/N Please read and review, I need at least five reviews to continue this story, if not then I'm probably not going to continue it.**


	3. Pain Comes Knocking

Chapter 3: Pain Comes Knocking

~ Pain Is Inevitable. Suffering Is Unavoidable. Giving In Is Unacceptable~

Recap:

_Sakura smiled as Sasuke stood and walked out of the classroom. She followed shortly after not wanting to be anymore late than she already was. Even if she was new there was no excuse for seven minutes late. Sasuke led her to a room that was set off further from any of the others. Probably since it was a music class and it could get quite loud._

_Sasuke opened the door and walked in as Sakura went in just after him._

Sasuke walked to his seat in the back of the room as usual while Sakura looked around for the teacher. He was nowhere to be found, no wonder Sasuke wasn't worried about being late when he walked in. The rest of the class, which was pretty small, stared at her as she looked around.

"Haha look at the new girl, she is so lost."

Sakura looked to the desk that was the second seat in front of Sasuke. A girl with glasses was looking at her with a smirk on her face.

'What is it with people picking on me today?'

She was lost in her own thoughts when she felt someone come up behind her. She jumped slightly when the person spoke.

"You must be our new student."

Sakura turned around and standing there was a man with gray hair. He had a mask covering his face as his hair covered one of his eyes.

"Please call me Kakashi-sensei, you must be Sakura, am I right?"

Sakura nodded quickly and smiled. Kakashi smiled through his mask and looked to the class, searching for a seat she could sit in.

"Alright Sakura you can sit in front of Sasuke."

Sakura smiled once again as Sasuke rolled his eyes again as well. As Sakura walked over to her seat the girl with the glasses glared at her, she mouthed something but Sakura didn't catch it. As Sakura sat down, Sasuke shook his head before saying in a whisper,

"Stalker."

Sakura laughed quietly before turning around and sticking her tongue out at him. Sasuke looked away, almost childishly, as Kakashi began to speak.

"Ok, well as you know we've been doing our presentations for the past few classes and I think we only have one more person left to sing their song."

Sasuke sighed, he knew it was him Kakashi was referring to. He was correct when his name was called. He stood from his desk and walked to the small stage in the front of the room. A CD player was sitting on a small stool. In Sasuke's hand was a silver CD that looked blank, he put it into the player and hit pause. Kakashi smiled at him and nodded before saying.

"Whenever you feel ready."

Sakura listened intently as Sasuke hit the play button on the player. The sound of a guitar played followed by the beating of a drum. It wasn't long before Sasuke began to sing.

'Why is life so hard to live?  
Nothing seems to have a reason  
I've tried hard to strive  
But its the end of my season

I struggle with life  
My pain is too much  
So I will take my knife  
Tonight it will touch

My scars bleed  
Even if they are sealed  
The pain is still there  
All of it is revealed

I've become distant and cold  
Straying away from friends  
Straying away from love  
I know what's coming is the end

Why do I feel this way?  
Was I not meant to be happy?  
There's always a price to pay  
For having a life as crappy

No one can see  
What was left behind  
As I fell to my knees  
Lost in my own mind

Broken to nothing  
Every single day  
No one is loving  
I don't want to stay

I've tried and tried  
To see the good in life  
But the tears I've cried  
Match the blood on my knife

Why do I feel this way?  
Was I not meant to be happy?  
There's always a price to pay  
For having a life as crappy

There's nothing for me  
Upon this hateful world  
Cut down like a tree  
Sent emotionally twirled'

Sasuke finished his song and the class applauded. Sakura was simply amazed at the emotion Sasuke was able to flow into the song. Was this really how he felt about his life? She wanted to know more about him, but the question was how would she pull that off?

Sasuke sighed as the girl with the glasses cheered him on. She had a deep infatuation with him and quite frankly he found it annoying.

"Alright Karin calm down."

Kakashi sweat dropped at her as she cheered. Sasuke looked over at his teacher as Kakashi glanced over at him. Sasuke merely cringed with a shiver and his sensei chuckled at his reaction. Sakura saw this reaction and slightly giggled to herself.

Sasuke removed his CD and walked back to his seat, but not before Karin practically threw herself on him. Sasuke always hated this girl; he shoved Karin off and sat in his seat. Sakura began to feel anger at the young teen, she was getting on the pink-haired girl's nerves.

"Well that's done, now you may talk till the end of class, the next project we will be doing will be announced tomorrow."

The class sighed in relief, a day to just hang and chill out. Sasuke ignored everyone and only pulled out his journal. Sakura deciding to try and make conversation turned in her seat and gazed at Sasuke. She was curious as to what he always seemed to write in it.

Sasuke feeling someone staring shifted his gaze up and there was Sakura looking at his journal. He placed his arm over the light pages and raised an accusing eyebrow at her. Sakura laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head.

"Come on, let me see."

"Uh, how about no?"

Sakura seemed hurt by his response, but as she looked into his eyes, she saw a playful gleam. She reached out to grab the journal, but Sasuke grabbed and closed it, then hid it behind him. He then leaned forward resting his head on his hand.

"No fair."

"Who said life was fair?"

Sakura glared at him teasingly, but cracked when she saw Sasuke's impassive face. Karin seemed to see the exchange between the two and she flared with jealousy.

"Damn it, how can you keep such a calm face?"

"You learn to when you've lived the life I have."

She was about to ask what he meant by that, but the bell rang. He stood up, grabbed his journal placing that inside his bag, then he was off. Sakura was left there as he disappeared. She grabbed her stuff and ran out the door.

She walked out of the doors of the school, but before she got any further someone calling her name stopped her. Turning around she spotted Tenten running towards her. She waved at her as Tenten came to a stop by her side.

"So, how was your first day?"

"Exhausting and cruel."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, when I went into creative writing, guess who was there."

"I don't know, who?"

"Sasuke."

Tenten stared wide-eyed at her before saying,

"Let me guess, he made class a living hell, right?"

"Actually he didn't, it was that Daisuke kid, he tried picking a fight with Sasuke but he told him off pretty good, you should have heard what Sasuke said."

"Oh wow, so why was that cruel for you?"

"Well, Daisuke tried asking me out and I turned him down, but after that class he..."

"He what?"

"He called me a slut just because I refused to date him."

"Oh hell no."

"He tried to convince me, and wouldn't leave me alone, but Sasuke came and helped me."

"Did he really? That is shocking to say the least."

"What really surprised me was when we went to music together, when we were in there, I tried to grab his journal and he started to be a little playful and teased me."

"You're kidding me right? That doesn't sound like the Sasuke we've seen lately."

"I'm dead serious."

Tenten smiled happily, maybe there was some hope to get Sasuke back and Sakura was the key. Tenten soon had a thought and a sly grin spread across her face.

"You're not going to fall for him are you? Or has that already happened?"

Sakura turned red instantaneously at her comment. Tenten laughed lightly as they arrived at the parking lot where they met up with the others.

"Hey guys."

Ino greeted them first as the others nodded at them. Tenten retold everything Sakura had said to her, everyone was in shock. Sasuke never acted that way toward anyone lately, maybe Sakura would be the one to help him though the problems he's been having.

"Wow, so Sakura when are you and Sasuke hooking up."

Sakura blushed again, and hid her face as everyone laughed in some sort of way. Even if it was a smirk, that being Neji.

"Shut up you guys, it's not funny."

"Oh yes it is, now you have to compete with Karin."

"She was in our music class, I hate her already."

Everyone laughed at her statement, as Naruto grinned. He was already starting to get that spark back into his eyes. Maybe with Sakura's help, he'd finally get his best friend back and everything would go back to normal.

"Well guys, I need to get home, I have to walk so..."

She was cut of instantly by Ino.

"Oh no, I'm giving you a ride come on."

Ino grabbed her hand and led her away as she waved bye to everyone. As soon as Ino got her into the car, the interrogation began.

"So Sakura, tell me truthfully, do you like Sasuke?"

Sakura looked away in embarrassment. Ino was so good at knowing things, especially about guys. After Sakura hadn't said anything, Ino smiled, she had her answer and she was actually kind of happy.

"You know, Sasuke has never had a girlfriend," Ino stated as she drove down the street.

Sakura contemplated what Ino said before saying,

"Why not?"

"Sasuke always seemed to shy away from stuff like that you know, plus, he's always been dark and mysterious, but not as bad as he is now."

Ino followed the directions given by Sakura to her house. She soon came to stop outside a large two-story house that was white with dark blue trimmings. Plants decorated the pathway up to the door. Sakura got out of the car as she said her goodbye to Ino. She shut the door letting the metallic skin glide across her smooth fingers.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke began walking down the sidewalk; he pulled out his mp3 player allowing the sound of raging guitars and drums to fill his ears. He seemed to not have a care in the world and in reality he really didn't. Sasuke was oblivious of what was around him until he reached an alleyway and was taken by surprise when two guys jumped out and grabbed him. They dragged him into the alley making sure to get his bag off and throw it aside along with his music player.

Throwing him against the wall, Sasuke groaned with slight pain that he felt sting his back. He looked up and saw Daisuke standing in front of him, his two friends held him against the wall. Sasuke glared with hatred at the boy standing there with that ugly smirk on his face.

"Well, now who's better Sasuke?" Daisuke chuckled, "Hold him still."

Suddenly without warning Daisuke brought a force filled punch straight to Sasuke's abdomen. Sasuke gasped slightly but held back any yells or screams. Daisuke was unsatisfied with the result and punched Sasuke in the face causing his lip to bleed. Sasuke merely groaned as Daisuke signaled for the other two to help him. And with that they just began to kick and punch him, leaving no time for him to defend himself.

Once they were finished, Daisuke and his friends left Sasuke lying on the ground, with no one around to help him. They laughed as they walked away, obviously pleased with themselves.

"Hey emo kid, next time I talk to you, you better answer me."

They disappeared after that as Sasuke picked himself up off the cold hard ground. He held his stomach; the pain was burning unbearably for him. He grabbed his stuff before continuing on his way home where he was sure the suffering was only going to get worse. He ignored any gasps or offers to help from the pedestrians he passed. He wouldn't let anyone get involved, especially in his life.

Managing to get to his front door, he twisted the knob and stumbled inside. His assumption was correct about the suffering when he heard a dark firm voice reach his ears

"Where have you been?"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt more pain throughout his body. The real suffering was only now beginning, and it seemed it would last longer this time.

**A/N Ok, so I know that was mean to Sasuke, but it's part of the story, anyway, I need five reviews on this chapter to continue, I was happy about all the reviews I previously received and I'd like to get some more readers. One last thing, did anyone read the newest chapter of the manga, I'm still shocked that Hinata did that, but it was so sweet and cute. Bye for now ^_^**


	4. Welcome To My Life

Chapter 4: Welcome To My Life

~Tears represent the heart, the spirit and the soul of a person~

Recap:

_"Where have you been?"_

_Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt more pain throughout his body. The real suffering was only now beginning, and it seemed it would last longer this time._

Sasuke gasped as he felt a stinging sensation in his cheek. He glanced up at the man he used to see as a hero, the one who helped bring him into this world. The man before him had a dazed look in his eyes, and Sasuke new he had been drinking again. The alcohol mixed with his breath was a dead give away.

"Dad I'm sorry, I didn't notice the time."

"That's a lie boy, you were hanging out with those friends of yours and told them what goes on in this house."

"No I swear I didn't."

"You better hope on your life and your ex-friends lives."

Sasuke received another hit to the stomach before his father walked away and passed out on the couch. Sasuke coughed, he held his stomach once again as he grabbed his bag and stumbled his way upstairs. He was already feeling dizzy from the pain, but he managed to make it to his room, and closed his door.

A bed covered in a navy blue blanket sat at one corner of the room, while a black desk sat opposite. In between was a large window with a small ledge, just large enough to sit upon.

Before Sasuke even knew it, he dropped his bag as unconsciousness took over. His body hit the carpeted floor with a soft thud. The pain finally managed to get to him and he couldn't stay awake much longer.

Naruto sat at home, he had a sudden feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't place it. He shook it off and brought out his homework to get started. But that feeling still nagged at the back of his mind.

Nighttime soon fell, homes were sent into darkness as the inhabitants went to sleep. But that wasn't the biggest detail; no it was the dark ominous clouds that blanketed the night sky. A storm was coming in, and a big one at that.

It rained through the night as the thunder and raindrops outside his window awakened Sasuke. He stood to his feet as pain shot through his body, causing him to fall to his knees and clutch his stomach. Taking a couple of breaths he forced himself up and walked to his bathroom. Flipping the light on, he gazed into the mirror and saw the bloody mess that was his face. Most of the swelling had gone down, but he had a black eye that was very noticeable.

Sasuke shook his head and grabbed a towel off a metal rack next to the sink. He turned the knobs as warm water rushed into the white bowl. Placing his hands under the water he splashed the liquid on his face. His blood slowly went down the drain. He snatched the towel up as he turned the water off and began dabbing his face. He walked back into his room and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, he may as well get dressed now, there was no way he was going to be able to get back to sleep. And getting out of the house earlier would be best for him.

Sasuke took off his jacket and set it on his bed as he grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom. Setting them on the counter he walked to the tub and pulled the shower curtain closed and turned the water on. The water hit the tub mimicking the sound of the rain outside. He removed his black shirt and looked at his torso in the mirror. Bruises and scars were visible, some fresh and some old, either way they were still there. He touched one of the fresh ones and flinched slightly.

_'Damn it.'_

Thirty minutes later, Sasuke emerged from the bathroom wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt with dark red guitar design going vertically from his left shoulder to his right side. He threw his clothes into a basket leaving only his chain wallet in his hand, which he put on effortlessly. By his bed were a pair of black shoes with white shoelaces; he grabbed them along with a pair of short cut white socks. Slipping those on he walked to his closet and reached inside, grabbing a different hoodie that was black with a bleeding red heart on the left side. To finish his look he grabbed a pair of thin black fingerless gloves and put them on.

School was still quite a few hours away, so he sauntered over to his window and sat down on the ledge, as he waited for his hair to dry. He placed his legs on the ledge leaving his knees up allowing him to rest his arms on them. The rain continued to fall as Sasuke gazed out the window, the moon shown brightly despite being covered with dark clouds. It wasn't long before a few crystal drops escaped his dark eyes. He quickly wiped them away but more just came out of his irises. Shoulders shaking, Sasuke cried as quietly as he could, wondering why his father did this to him.

Sakura woke up at that moment; it was just a spontaneous thing, probably just thirst that awoke her. She got out of bed in her pink and black pajamas and walked downstairs to the kitchen, her pink hair in a disheveled mess atop her head. Grabbing a glass, she filled it with water and drank it in small sips. She sighed in satisfactory and went back to her room. Still not knowing the emotional pain a certain boy was going through.

His tears finally stopped as he forced them back. Sasuke opened his window by pushing it out after unlocking it. Cool wind kissed his face as sprinkles of water misted over him. He reached out his hand allowing the cold water to hit his pale-gloved hand as shivers ran down his spine. Suddenly he became cold when that sensation hit him, so he tugged his jacket closer to his body. Depression swept through his body, he didn't want to continue this life anymore, he wanted out.

_'Fuck, I swore to myself I'd never do this again.'_

Sasuke stood from the window and walked over to his bed. Kneeling down he reached underneath the large bed and pulled out a small metal black box. He opened the lid as the contents revealed pictures, old poems, cleansing alcohol, white bandage and gauze and a knife, as sharp as shark's teeth. Lifting the knife from its prison he rolled up the sleeve of his left arm.

_'Mom, I'm sorry, I promised when I went to your grave, but I can't take it anymore. I need some form of release.'_

With that, Sasuke brought the knife down onto his skin, carving two lines across his wrist forming a large 'X' as blood flowed out of the newly created blemish on his already tattered body. With a deep sigh, he grabbed the alcohol and a piece of the white gauze and dabbed the cut. A slight stinging feeling occurred but quickly faded as he wrapped the white bandage around his wrist, trying to hide the marks of shame.

Sakura woke up that morning feeling refreshed but just slightly tired after waking up in the middle of the night. She took her shower and got dressed for the day in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black shirt; she wore a pair of black flip-flops just to make it easy. Ino was picking her up today so as soon as she arrived downstairs she spotted Ino talking to her mother, she was wearing a purple blouse and blue jeans with black flip flops.

"Hey Ino."

"Hey Sakura ready to go."

"Yep."

Sakura and Ino walked to the door as Sakura's mother said,

"Wait aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

"No thanks mom, I'm not really hungry. Bye I'll see you after school.

Her mother waved to the two from the doorway as they got into Ino's car and drove off to another day of school. Ino started a conversation with Sakura including what classes she had for first, second and third period since she hadn't come until fourth. Turns out she had English and history with Ino for first and third.

"Tenten is also in our English class, but for your math class second period I don't know if anyone has it with you."

"Its cool," Sakura laughed, "As long as I know some people in my other classes I'm good."

The blonde-haired girl smiled as she pulled into the school parking lot. She pulled in right next a black car, which belonged to Neji, all the guys rode with him, just to carpool, they switched off who's car they'd take each week. Hinata rode with Tenten in her car, not wanting to be stuck with all the guys, so Tenten picked her up, sometimes the girls would do the same thing as the guys but it wasn't very often. The two girls got out of the car and grabbed their stuff, Sakura grabbing light pink bag and Ino snatching up her dark purple one.

"Hey Sakura, I noticed, why didn't you have a bag yesterday, but today you do?

"Oh, I didn't have one, my mom went and bought me this one while I was at school."

"Oh ok, I was just curious."

Sakura smiled at her as they continued walking, they stopped at a table as they met up wit the others. Naruto gave a wave, crinkling his orange shirt, to the two when they sat down, since school didn't start for another twenty minutes they decided to sit and chat. Their attention turned when they heard a few gasps and looks of shock towards the school doors. Walking to the school doors was Sasuke with his hood up as usual, but what caught their stare was the black bruise around his eye. He paid no attention to any of the teens as he looked down allowing his hair to shadow his eyes.

Sakura looked at him in shock, as did the rest of the gang, another detail that caught her eye was the fact that his eyes were red and it looked like he hadn't slept at all. Naruto stared upon his best friend, there was no word describe the look on his face. He didn't know what to do, should he try and approach the dark teen and find out what happened. He decided against it as Sasuke vanished through the school doors.

"Sasuke."

That was all that Naruto had whispered making the others gaze at him with sympathy. They wanted to help him, but what they could they say about it, saying Sasuke would be all right was just a lie itching at their mouths. In the end they kept quiet until the bell rang and the young adults had to head to class to avoid being late. No one said a word as each one disappeared to go to his or her separate ways.

The first four classes passed without incident, now lunch was just around the corner in about five minutes. Hinata and Sakura waited for the bell to ring as the rest of their peers finished their worksheets. They all sighed in relief when the bell rang through the room, all of the kids pushed their way out, repeating how they acted yesterday wanting to get their food and find a good table. As the two girls walked out of the room Sakura caught sight of Sasuke as he went into the boy's restroom.

"Hinata, I'll meet you at the table, I need to go do something."

"O-ok, see you later then."

As soon as Hinata was out of sight, Sakura walked to the girl's bathroom, which was next to the boys. She stood by the girls door until she saw Sasuke come out, he touched his face and flinched before walking in the opposite direction of her. She ran after him and caught him by the shoulder not noticing the cringe he made. Sasuke spun around on his heel with a glare.

"WHAT!"

He saw it was Sakura and the scowl was wiped from his face. Sakura stared at him with surprise; she never heard him yell like that before but disregarded it immediately. She smiled slightly before saying,

"I just wanted to say hi and ask if you were all right."

"I'm fine."

Sasuke turned and was about to walk away when Sakura came to a stop in front of him. She had a scowl of her own on her face; she wasn't going to let him get away from him that easily.

"Oh really cause you don't look like you're fine. You have a black eye, mind explaining that one."

He merely looked away and ignored her. This angered her slightly and she said with fury,

"Hello, are you listening to me?"

Sasuke continued to ignore her; she grabbed his arm as he let out a hiss of pain. He yanked his arm free from her grasp and held it trying to ease the sting from her tight grip.

"Well answer me."

"ITS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!"

Sakura was taken aback at his tone; yesterday he was completely fine now today he was being a complete jerk. Sasuke turned and walked away from her only stopping when she began to speak to him.

"What did I do? You and I got along fine yesterday, what made you change?"

"Its something you wouldn't understand, you'd be best off staying out of my life."

"I only want to help you."

"You really want to help, then LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"

Sasuke took off running as Sakura stared after him. Tears made their way down her face, she cried as quietly as she could and ran into the girl's bathroom.

He stood hiding against the wall as he watched Sakura cry and run into the bathroom. He was filled with guilt and regret at the way he yelled at her.

'_I'm sorry Sakura, I really am, but I just can't let you get involved.'_

With that Sasuke left the school building, deciding to ditch the last two classes and walk around the woods behind the school. No one could get close, not when his father was around and basically controlled his life. He just needed to be left alone.

**A/N Alright, another chapter done, hopefully I wasn't too harsh to either of them in this chapter, but this is only the start.**


	5. Not As Planned

Chapter 5: Not As Planned

~Man by himself cannot deal with his own guilt~

**A/N Thanks for the reviews, so here's the next chapter of Let Me In**

Recap:

_'I'm sorry Sakura, I really am, but I just can't let you get involved.'_

_With that Sasuke left the school building, deciding to ditch the last two classes and walk around the woods behind the school. No one could get close, not when his father was around and basically controlled his life. He just needed to be left alone._

Sasuke walked out into the woods, passing trees and frightening any stray animals that were out roaming. He finally stopped and leaned against a tall tree and sat down. His eyes showed the guilt he felt about what he had said to Sakura earlier. In a way he had wanted to get close to her. She was the first girl who didn't just like him or want to talk to him because of his looks. She was just different. He had to admit to himself that she was cute and sweet.

But those thoughts were wiped instantly from his mind when his father came into the picture. Sasuke shut his eyes tight trying to rid himself of the memories of last night. He didn't know what to do, he felt he should tell someone but he couldn't, his father threatened to hurt his friends if he did. Sasuke let out a deep sigh, as he looked up at the sky. It was still cloudy and it seemed to get darker by the minute.

_'It may rain soon,'_ Sasuke thought as his gaze was fixed on the sky.

Removing his bag, he set it next to him and pulled out his journal. He may as well do some writing and finish his poems for his project. He was going to be here awhile, school didn't let out for about another two and half hours. If he tried to leave for home now someone might spot him and he be in trouble for sure.

Sakura walked slowly to the table where her friends sat. The three girls that were seated instantly stood up when they saw her red puffy eyes. They knew she had been crying it was clearly written on her face. She tried to force a smile but didn't work as another tear escaped her eye. Ino quickly stood up and gave her a hug followed by Hinata and Tenten.

"Sakura what happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"You're lying," Ino stated with assurance.

Sakura looked away as she wiped her eyes. The tears had finally stopped for the time being. She tried to think of something that would get their minds off the subject, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. Sakura gave a deep sigh before looking up into each of their eyes, which held concern for her.

"Sasuke he was just a complete jerk. I only wanted to help him and ask what had happened, in short he told me to leave him the hell alone."

Naruto shook his head at this news. That boy needed to talk whether he wanted to or not. They were about to leave the table to go find Sasuke when all of a sudden Daisuke had come up to them. He had a smirk on his face that said he knew something they didn't.

"I know what happened to him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tenten gritted through her teeth.

"What I mean is, I'm the one who gave him that black eye."

He was proud of what he had done; he didn't regret any of it. Naruto flared with anger at this news as he stood from the table and walked up to him. He grabbed Daisuke by the collar if his shirt, but Daisuke only gave a low chuckle.

"You bastard, I ought to kick your ass for what you did to him."

Naruto was very threatening when he needed to be and Daisuke had only pissed him off. Neji had also stood from his spot and walked over to where the two were. He was ready in case a fight broke out right here, Naruto would need help, especially if Daisuke's friends appeared.

"Lay off Uzumaki, I'll do what I want. Next time he should answer me when I'm talking to him, he should consider it a very valuable lesson."

Daisuke shrugged off his hold and began walking away. But not before someone grabbed his arm and spun him around. It was in fact Sakura. He gave a smirk at the pink-haired girl before him. She held a frown on her face and Daisuke thought nothing of it.

"Well, have you decided to accept my date?"

His question was ignored when he felt a sting in his left cheek. Sakura had slapped him roughly across the face. And a red mark was already beginning to appear on his skin. Daisuke instantly looked at her in shock, no one had ever had the guts to do what she had.

"You're a sick, cruel, asshole!!!"

With that said Sakura walked away leaving most of the student population staring at Daisuke with their mouths slightly gaped in surprise. He merely rubbed his face and looked at her retreating back. She was going to regret that and he was going to make sure of it. He chuckled and walked away, knowing exactly what he was going to do.

The bell rang and Sakura found herself sitting in creative writing. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen and this confused her. She kept her eyes on the door hoping he was just late. Truthfully she didn't want to be in here with Daisuke especially if the teacher left again. There was no telling what he would do. As she looked around she caught Daisuke staring at her with a smile on his face. Turning in her chair she faced away from him and attempted to get through this class.

_'He must have ditched.'_

She glanced out the window as she saw dark clouds quickly cover the sky. Continuing to write she ignored everything else around her and tried to finish more of her project. Daisuke smirked and continued his as well.

The last classes had passed by very quickly, and in Sakura's music class they had a substitute. So they would have to find out about their new assignment tomorrow, lucky for Sasuke, seeing as he had ditched this class too.

Sakura walked out of the school as Ino came up beside her and tried to start a conversation. She tried to get her to smile but Sakura just wasn't in the mood. They came to a stop beside the cars as everyone arrived shortly after.

"Come on Sakura, I'll take you home."

"Thanks Ino, but I'd really rather walk home if you don't mind. I just need to think, what Sasuke said really stung."

Naruto then put in,

"But Sakura it could rain any minute."

"I'll be fine, if it makes you feel better I'll call Ino if it starts to rain."

"And I will be there to pick you up."

Ino smiled warmly at her as Sakura nodded in agreement. They agreed reluctantly and waved their goodbyes to Sakura as she left and began walking home. She tried coming up with something that would get Sasuke to talk to her, there had to be more as why he was such a jerk. Getting beaten up by Daisuke couldn't have caused all of that, he had stood up to him before so why did it bother Sasuke now.

What Sakura hadn't known was that Sasuke walked this same way to get home; in fact he wasn't too far behind her. Neither of them had noticed the other, though Sakura wasn't going to get that chance. As she walked by the same alley Sasuke passed the previous day, a hand reached out and grabbed her. The other came and clamped over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Her bag was thrown into the shadows as her phone slipped out of her pocket and landed on the sidewalk she was previously standing on.

Sakura kicked and punched trying to get free from the grasp of this person that had grabbed her. She screamed through their hand trying to get help from anyone that may pass by, but she knew no one was coming to help her. It was empty when she was walking, they only thing that passed were cars and people couldn't hear her from inside them. The person's hand slipped slightly and Sakura managed to yell,

"LET GO OF ME!"

"Shut up, or you'll regret it."

Her eyes widened as she recognized that voice. It was all too familiar, the one Sasuke had yelled at, and whom she had slapped across the face. That voice belonged to Daisuke. He only chuckled at her realization and slammed her into the wall. Sakura flinched in slight pain making Daisuke laugh darkly. He grabbed her hands and pinned them with one of his above her head.

"You should have known better than to mess with me Sakura. Now you're going to give me what I want."

She was trembling now, her heart was racing severely as she figured out what he meant. He was going to defile her and strip her of her innocence. She began to scream but she was silenced as Daisuke smacked her across the face, he was looking very angry right now.

"You scream again and I'll be sure my face is the last thing you see."

He proved his point as he showed a knife in his pocket, and then quickly hid it again. Sakura took in a shaky breath as he moved to her shirt, tore it on the front before fully ripping it off her torso. Daisuke threw it to the ground and smirked again seeing the terrified look in Sakura's eyes. She was left in her black lace bra and what covered her lower half. He moved his face closer and began kissing her neck; Sakura had no other option except to cry at what he was doing.

Sasuke walked solemnly down the sidewalk, thinking about everything that had happened in the last two days. There was just so much built up within his mind that he hadn't known what to do with it. He just wanted to yell and release everything, but the pain in his arm reminded him that he had already tried so much to get rid of it. He kept walking but stopped suddenly when he stepped on something.

He bent down and picked up what looked to be a cell phone. Holding the piece of pink plastic in his hand, he went into the contacts and gazed at the numbers until his eyes landed on Hinata's name, then Ino's right after. He jumped a little when he heard a yell that shouted,

"NO, STOP!"

'_That voice sounds familiar,'_ Sasuke thought fearfully in his mind.

Setting the phone in his pants pocket he ran into the alley and stayed hidden in the shadows. He arrived just in time to see Daisuke pulling out a knife and shouting something at Sakura who was against the wall. She was crying uncontrollably as he let her go and fall to the ground.

"I warned you, you little bitch."

Daisuke brought the knife back and was about to bring it back down when Sasuke threw his bag off and ran over to them. He punched Daisuke and knocked him to the ground. Sasuke stood protectively in front of Sakura as Daisuke got to his feet, knife ready and waiting in his left hand. Sakura had been to shocked ad scared to see who had saved her as she hugged her knees to her chest and cried.

"So the emo freak does have guts, you didn't fight the last time, so this should be easy."

"You only got the better of me the last time because your two lackeys jumped me and pinned me to the fucking wall. Let's see how well you fight on your own."

Daisuke grew angry with this and charged towards Sasuke who dodged easily and hit him in the back. But Daisuke managed to bring the knife around and cut Sasuke along his right cheek making him hiss in pain. But that hadn't stopped him as he grabbed Daisuke's arm and forced the knife from his hand and then punched him in the face. The captain's nose began to bleed as he fell to the ground. He stood unsteadily as Sasuke readied for another go at him.

"You bastard, I'll get you for this."

Sasuke wasted no time and ran towards him and grabbed him by the collar as Naruto had done. He had a deadly look on his face as he stared at Daisuke with as much hatred as he could muster.

"You touch her again, I'll make sure you get something worse than a bloody nose next time," Sasuke whispered darkly.

Dropping Daisuke from his grip the bloody nosed boy ran off and left the alley. Sasuke sprinted over to Sakura and saw her shaking form; he kneeled down and grabbed one of her shoulders. He was taken aback when she started yelling and screaming then started to hit him in the chest.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Sakura, SAKURA!" Sasuke yelled her name the second time as she stopped and looked up, "Its ok, its me."

Sakura began to cry and grabbed the front of his jacket and buried her face into it. Sasuke hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and let her cry, not bothering to stop her or push her back.

"He's gone now."

Sakura stopped sobbing and looked up at him, he blushed slightly and looked up.

"Here," He said as he removed his jacket and handed it to her.

"What's this for?"

"Well, you're not covered up."

Sakura looked down and covered her chest then quickly put on his jacket. All while blushing furiously as she did so. Sasuke stood and walked over and grabbed both of their bags. He slipped his over his shoulder and put one arm through one of Sakura's backpack straps. He watched as she stood shakily and leaned against the wall, he knew she wouldn't be able to walk home.

He walked over to her and lifted her into his arms, carrying her bridal style. She smiled her gratitude and wrapped her arms around his neck and began to cry at what had almost happened.

**A/N Please read and review, I need at least eight reviews to continue  
**


	6. Crossing The Line

Chapter 6: Crossing The Line

~The worrisome heart pays a high price for doing so~

Recap:

_Sakura looked down and covered her chest then quickly put on his jacket. All while blushing furiously as she did so. Sasuke stood and walked over and grabbed both of their bags. He slipped his over his shoulder and put one arm through one of Sakura's backpack straps. He watched as she stood shakily and leaned against the wall, he knew she wouldn't be able to walk home._

_He walked over to her and lifted her into his arms, carrying her bridal style. She smiled her gratitude and wrapped her arms around his neck and began to cry at what had almost happened_

Sasuke carried her as he walked slowly down the concrete sidewalk. Sakura continued to cry as quietly as she could but Sasuke still heard her. She had been traumatized, he knew she had, this wasn't something she was going to get over easily. He gave a sigh as his heart clenched for her. He was beginning to feel even worse for what he said to her at school. But what could he say to make her understand that she couldn't be near him.

The clouds above them broke open allowing small sprinkles of rain to fall to the ground. They didn't get wet enough to actually have to run. Sakura pointed to where she lived as Sasuke followed her directions. Sakura had started to calm down a bit as her cries became simple sniffs. As they neared her home, they noticed lights flashing. But thought nothing of it until they came into full view.

Several police cars were parked out front of the house, Sakura's parents were standing on the doorstep talking to some police officers. She shifted slightly as Sasuke set her down, she stumbled a little before running towards her parents.

"MOM! DAD!"

Her parents turned their heads quickly; as soon as they spotted her they ran out to greet her with a warm hug. Her mother had tears running down her face, as the same appeared on hers and her father's face.

"Oh honey, what happened we were worried sick about you."

"There was this kid and he tried to rape me mom, I was so scared."

Sakura began to cry harder now remembering as the images flashed through her head. Her parent's eyes widened at the new information.

"Oh my god, how did you escape from him? Do you know who it was?"

Her father questioned her seeming ready to go find the kid that had done this to his daughter.

"Sasuke helped me. And the one that did it was Daisuke."

"Sasuke? Isn't he kid you said didn't like to talk or hang out with anyone?"

"Yeah he is. He's right over ther..."

Sakura looked and noticed Sasuke was gone, her bag sat neatly on the ground with something next to it.

_'Where did he go?'_

She let her parents go as she ran over to her stuff and picked it up. That other something was a journal, not just a journal, Sasuke's journal. The one thing he wouldn't let anyone read or even touch, yet here it was lying on the ground next to her stuff.

_'Something tells me he didn't leave it here on purpose maybe he dropped it.'_

She picked up both items and walked back to her house where her parents led her over to the police so she could answer some questions and identify the person responsible.

Sasuke made it home as it began to pour rain outside. He carefully and slowly opened the front door. Peeking his head in before fully walking inside and shutting it behind him. Glancing around he didn't see his father anywhere, which was kind of weird. He turned as he walked backwards toward the stairs. He bumped into something causing him to jump in surprise. He spun around and saw it was only the stair railing, he sighed feeling stupid for jumping like that.

He walked up the stairs and looked down the hall into his father's room. He was passed out on the bed with an empty beer bottle on the nightstand. Sasuke shook his head and went to his, shutting the door and being sure to lock it. He threw his bag on the bed and opened it up. Reaching inside he began searching for something, something that wasn't there. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized his journal was missing.

_'Shit, this bad'_

Suddenly he heard a banging on his door, he turned his head as his father's loud drunken voice yelled at him.

"OPEN THIS DOOR SASUKE!!"

Sasuke was frozen in place, not knowing if he should open it or sneak out the window. Walking slowly towards the door his heart began racing, as his breath became ragged. He twisted the lock and his dad pushed the door open causing Sasuke to fall onto the ground. A scowl was placed on the man's face as he looked down upon his son.

"You were late again."

Sasuke gulped and shut his eyes, knowing fully well what was about to happen. He didn't move, he took all that it was not caring what could happen.

Sakura sat cross-legged on her bed; Sasuke's journal was sitting in front of her. Her hair was slightly damp from the shower she had taken. She was debating on if she should read the journal that sat neatly in front of her.

_'Would it be right of me to invade his privacy like this? I mean he goes through so much to keep it away from everybody.'_

Her hand lingered on the cover of the journal as she slid her fingers over the smooth leather surface. She wanted so badly to read the contents of it, but was hesitant.

_'Its rare someone even has it in their possession.'_

Opening up to the first page she gazed upon a picture, it was of a woman and a boy that seemed to be a little older than Sasuke. It wasn't a real picture, but a drawing, and they were perfect images of real people.

_'Who are they?'_

These questions ran through her mind as she heard a soft knock on her door. She muttered a quick come in as she slid the journal underneath her pillow. The door opened to reveal her parents, they had come to say good night to her.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you doing? Just came to say goodnight."

"Thanks, and I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah dad I am. I just need some rest, if I need anything I know where to go."

"One last thing, I'd like you to invite Sasuke over for dinner on Sunday. I want a chance to meet the boy who saved my daughter."

Sakura nodded and smiled at her parents as they returned it. As they each gave her a hug, they walked out the doorway making sure to close it behind them. She sighed and slid the journal out in front of her again and opened to the second page. On this page, there was a small bit of writing, it didn't exactly look like a poem but it was pretty close. Her eyes scanned the words, her eyes widened at what she read. She immediately closed the journal, and contemplated what she just laid her eyes on.

The next morning, Ino picked Sakura up as usual. She was unusually quiet for Ino's liking and the blonde began the conversation. Sakura seemed lost in thought until a hand began waving in front of her face.

"Huh, what?"

"Are you all right girl? You seem really out of it."

"Oh, I'm sorry Ino, I had a rough night."

"Care to explain?"

"Um, something happened yesterday when I was walking home."

"What?"

Sakura hesitated and Ino knew something was wrong. She had that look in her eye that made Ino worry.

"Sakura, what happened?"

"I ran into Daisuke, while walking home."

"Did he do something to you?"

Ino panicked as she pulled into the school and parked. Turning the engine off, she removed her seatbelt and turned in her seat to face Sakura.

"Sakura, did he do something? Did he hurt you?"

Sakura tried to fight back the tears, but they came through anyway. She began to cry now, not bothering to hold any of it back.

"Ino, h-he did try to do something, he tried to..."

Sakura stopped as she looked at her hands before whispering,

"He tried to rape me. And if it wasn't for Sasuke he would have succeeded in doing it."

Ino shook with anger but stopped when the pink-haired girl began to sob loudly. She reached over and pulled her into a hug. Sakura smiled at the much-needed comfort. They both jumped when someone knocked on the windshield. Looking up they spotted Tenten, with the others. Grabbing their bags, they got out of the car.

Tenten immediately noticed Sakura's red eyes.

"Sakura, what happened? Why were you crying?"

"Daisuke happened."

Ino responded for Sakura, she looked at her before Sakura nodded for her to tell them what had happened.

"He tried to rape her yesterday."

"Oh god," Naruto said, his blue eyes filled with concern, "I'm going to go kick his sorry ass."

"You can't, he was arrested yesterday night after I was able to get home."

"How did you get away?" Neji asked.

"Sasuke helped me; Daisuke and he began fighting there in the alley where I was taken. I think Sasuke gave him a pretty good scare. Though I really didn't hear what had happened. Then he carried me home."

"Aww, that was so sweet of him," Ino teased as Sakura turned red in embarrassment.

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled at her as the bell rang.

They all shared a laugh when Sakura walked off red as a cherry. She didn't get far before Ino yelled,

"SAY WHAT YOU WANT, BUT ITS OBVIOUS THAT HE LIKES YOU!"

The day passed by the same as usual, and Sakura once again found herself sitting in creative writing alone. The bright side though was that Daisuke was nowhere to be seen. That gave her some relief, but she wondered why Sasuke wasn't here.

"Alright, class will be over in a few seconds, so just remember your poetry book is due on Monday, you have the weekend to finish it so don't waste the time," Asuma finished as the bell rang, he walked up to Sakura and asked, "Sakura, will you remind Sasuke, I'd hate for his grade to drop because of this project if he forgets, he is one of my top students."

Sakura smiled before nodding her head confirming she would do it. She ran out of the room and headed to music class, today they should find out their next project. She arrived and took her seat as she spotted Karin not too far from her and she sighed in disgust at the outfit she was wearing.

Kakashi walked in and sighed he was definitely tired. Why? Well no one really knew for sure.

"Okay, so the next project will be to create another song, but you will be doing this in pairs this time. I don't care how you present it, you both can sing, one sings and one plays whatever," Kakashi explained.

"I call Sasuke as my partner," Karin stated.

"Sorry Karin, I picked the pairs and besides, Sasuke personally asked me not to pair him with you the first second he walked into my class."

All the students laughed as Karin sunk into her seat. She shook it off, thinking nothing of what he just said. Kakashi began to announce the pairs, until he finally called Sakura's name.

"Sakura, you will be paired with Sasuke."

Karin sat up at this, she was angry and her face showed it. Sakura merely nodded and looked down, fully aware of Karin's mood. She didn't want to get yelled at, not today anyway so she kept her head down and avoided any and all eyes that may have looked her way.

That class passed with ease and Sakura was soon standing next to Ino and the others. She was feeling better than she was this morning.

"Hey Ino, you know where Sasuke lives right?"

This question caught everyone's attention. They glanced at her as Ino said yes.

"Why?"

"Well, I need to return his jacket to him and then tell him about the new project."

It wasn't a total lie, she needed to do those things, but she also wanted to return his journal to him.

"Sure I'll take you over there, but wasn't he in class?"

"No, he wasn't."

"I say we all drive over there, just to see why he didn't show up," Naruto declared as they all agreed.

"Fine, but you guys hide in your cars, I don't want him to get angry."

"Fine," They all muttered.

A few minutes later, they found themselves outside Sasuke's house. Sakura took a deep breath before grabbing her bag and stepping out of the car. Ino pulled away concealing her car, but being close enough to see what was going on. The others did the same in the car they rode in.

Sakura walked up to the doorway getting ready to knock.

Sasuke was standing in the kitchen, wearing black pants and a black muscle shirt, looking for something to eat. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bag of carrots, before walking over to the counter and grabbing a tomato. He reached into the dish drainer and grabbed a knife and cut up the tomato in slices. He took the bag of carrots and attempted to open them, but he pulled a little to hard and the bag ripped open sending the carrots scattering to the floor.

"I ought to choke the mother-fucker that made this bag."

He muttered angrily to himself about how people couldn't make anything right as he picked up the carrots. Throwing those away he grabbed a tomato and put it into his mouth, but as he did that he heard a knock at the door. Sasuke grabbed another tomato and ate it before walking to the front and opening the door.

Sakura looked upon Sasuke as he stared at her, she giggled when she saw some tomato juice on his chin. He blushed and immediately wiped it off. Sakura hadn't noticed until now the cut that was on Sasuke's cheek. She reached out and touched it causing him to flinch away.

"Did Daisuke do that to you last night?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, but his voice sounded weak.

"You okay? You don't sound too good."

"I'm fine, is there something that you need?"

"Yeah actually I'm here to return your jacket," She replied as she reached into her bag and pulled out his black hoodie, "Also to tell you that we have to work together for the next project in music class."

"Oh I see, okay then," He put in as he grabbed his jacket from her."

"Also, I'm here to return this," She continued as she pulled out his journal, "I found it on the ground where you left my bag, I think it may have fallen out of your bag."

Sasuke grabbed it with wide eyes and looked at her.

"Tell me the truth, did you read it?"

"Only the first two pages, though the first page was a drawing, I'm curious to know who they are. Please don't be mad at me."

Sasuke gazed at her; she sure talked a lot. He shook his head at her rant and the way she apologized.

"Its my mom and my brother, I drew that last year after they died."

"Its really good, you have amazing art skills."

"Yeah I guess."

"Well anyway, I just came to return your stuff and give you some info."

"Oh that reminds me," Sasuke ran off to his room and returned instantly, "Here's your phone back, I forgot to return it to you yesterday after I found it on the ground."

"Thanks," Sakura said as she turned to leave, "One more thing, my parents want to know if you'd like to come over for dinner on Sunday."

"I'll have to check with my dad, I'll get back to you on that later."

"But how are you going to do that?"

"You may not have my number Sakura, but I've got yours."

Sasuke smirked as he left a blushing Sakura standing on his doorstep. He returned to the kitchen and placed his journal on the counter and opened to the second page, the one Sakura said she had read. And in black ink it said,

_'I thought I could love, I thought I could make it, but these thoughts just consumed me, to where I just want to end it. Nothing will ever change the way that I feel, not anyone at all not you and not me. You think I'm happy but I'm not going to be okay, take a closer look and you'll see the bruises and the scars'_

Sasuke studied the words he wrote months ago, hoping it didn't give away what really happened in his house. The new bruises on his torso stung, well at least Sakura didn't see them.

**A/N all right another chapter finished, yay. Phew I'm beat haha, sorry for not updating last week, I was busy hehe. ^_^ I just had to put the part with Sasuke and the bag of carrots, it happened with someone I knew and they said the same thing about the bag. Please read and review.  
**


	7. Into The Light

Chapter 7: Into The Light

~The hardest ones to love, are the ones who need it most~

Recap:

_Sasuke studied the words he wrote months ago, hoping it didn't give away what really happened in his house. The new bruises on his torso stung, well at least Sakura didn't see them_

_'I'm surprised she didn't notice this bandage wrap on my arm.'_

Sasuke shrugged and closed the journal and was about to go upstairs when he heard another knock on the door. He sighed and turned around and went back and opened the door again. To his surprise it was Sakura again.

"Uh, weren't you just here?"

"I forgot to tell you, the poetry book is due on Monday," She quickly said, feeling embarrassed that she had bothered him again.

"Okay, anything else before you forget."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her as she shook her head and quickly walked away from him. Shaking his head he closed the door and went upstairs. He was actually already done with his poetry book, he had it all typed before he lost his journal and Sakura found it.

_'Time to get ready for work.'_

Sasuke dressed in a pair of black pants with his chain wallet in his back pocket, and then put on a white shirt with a long sleeved black shirt underneath it. He walked over to his closet where a pair of black and white converse sat. He slipped those on then put in his snakebite studs. He snatched up two dog tag necklaces and slipped them around his neck and grabbed his nametag. He left his room and headed downstairs and grabbed his phone and music player off the kitchen counter.

Locking the front door he began walking to work. He was trying to save money to get a car, and luckily he was pretty close to getting there. God knows his dad won't buy him one. His bruises still stung but at least none were visible, his co-workers would surely give him hell about it, and he wasn't in the mood. As he kept going he put his headphones in and listened to rock and heavy metal music.

He kept a stoic face the whole way to the mall, he worked at the Hot Topic, he just re-stocked the products and handled the register, nothing special, but it paid well for him. The only thing was it got really annoying when the girls just gawked at him and attempted to show off or ask him out.

Arriving at the huge building filled with stores of many varieties he walked in as the cool air brushed his face. There were several people in the mall today, mostly teenagers actually. He didn't get far before girls began looking his way and one in particular looked his way, that one being Karin herself. There were two other girls with her and the three of them wore the skimpiest outfits anyone could have imagined.

"Karin he's here, go ask him."

Karin looked at her friend before nodding confidently and strolled over to Sasuke who was walking at an even pace.

"Hey Sasuke," She cooed seductively as she tried to show as much skin as possible.

Sasuke simply ignored her, mostly because he still had his headphones in his ears. Karin didn't think anything of it and grabbed his shoulder, which made him wince and turn around immediately. Sasuke spotted her and gave a disgusted grunt. Yanking free from her arm he said,

"Don't touch me, now what do you want?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me on Sunday."

Karin batted her eyelashes once again trying to show more skin than anyone but a pervert would have wanted. Sasuke on the other hand shivered in disgust, his eyes just saying get the hell out of my face.

"No way in fucking hell."

"Aww, don't be so shy Sasuke I know you want me."

"You don't know what the fuck I want, I want you to leave me alone."

Karin just stared at him, obviously being stupid enough to think he was kidding around. He left her right there and headed to his workplace. When he arrived his boss, the manager of the store, looked at him and raised an eyebrow. His reddish hair was fairly long but still short and he only wore black pants and a black long sleeved shirt.

"You're ten minutes late, unusual for you, you always come early."

"Sorry Sasori, I got caught up with some stuff."

"Oh, was it a girl."

Sasori grinned at the young, blushing Uchiha. Sasuke merely looked away and Sasori knew he had him cornered.

"Yes it was a girl. But its not what you're thinking, so get your perverted head out of the gutter."

"Fine, say what you want."

Sasori gave a small chuckle before continuing on to say.

"You know I'm just teasing, I'm doing your brother's job I know he would have wanted it this way."

"I didn't like it even when he was here, it's annoying."

"Yeah yeah, shut up, clock in and make sure everything is stocked."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and did as he was told. After clocking in he walked around the store and noticed the shirts needed to be restocked so he went to the back and grabbed a box full of different varieties.

Sakura and Ino decided to go to the mall and everyone else tagged along with them. A few hours at the mall could be fun especially with Ino around. She liked to look at all the cute guys that hung out there even though her heart was set on only one. A certain boy with a pineapple haircut to be exact, boy was she crushing hard.

The girls all walked together while the guys hung back and talked while trying to keep up with the females that were ahead of them.

"Hey Sakura, ever been into a Hot Topic before, there are always some cute guys to look at."

"No, why?"

"Then I'm going to take you there, trust me you'll love it."

Before she could decline the offer, Ino pulled her along with the rest of them over to where the store was located. The guys waited outside as the girls went in, they really didn't want to watch them gawk at all the guys that may have been in there. Plus it didn't help that they may have been a little jealous that they were looking at other guys.

As they walked in, they saw several people. Most of which wore all black and had several piercings. Sakura glanced around and smiled at Ino who pointed at a few guys checking out the shirts. Ino strolled over and began flirting as Tenten and Hinata went off on their own, leaving Sakura by herself. She freaked figuring they did it on purpose to make her ask one of the guys for help.

She walked forward as she turned around, looking at everything within the store. Sakura hadn't noticed where she was going until she bumped into someone and heard something fall to the floor. Immediately spinning around she saw a boy kneeling on the ground picking up the shirts that were strewn on the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," She apologized and bent down onto the floor to help pick them up.

"Its ok," He mumbled and grabbed more of the shirts.

When he looked up Sakura's eyes widened. She was staring face to face with Sasuke, which made her turn red with embarrassment again. She always seemed to make a fool out of herself when he was around. Their eyes clashed, neither of them bothering to look away.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked as she finally snapped from her gaze.

"I work here, what are you doing? Are you stalking me?" Sasuke looked at her accusingly.

"What no, no way. I didn't even know you worked here."

"Yeah sure."

Sakura pouted slightly as she reached for the last shirt, not knowing Sasuke had also reached for it. Their hands touched and Sakura looked up. Neither moved their hand as they looked at each other. Ino had quickly glanced over and smiled slyly at the two. She left the boys she was talking to and skipped over.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here."

The two teens shifted their gaze to Ino who was smiling mischievously. Quickly snatching back their hands they stood and looked away from each other, both of their faces a light shade of pink.

"Well Sasuke, I thought you'd never like somebody."

"I don't, sh-"

"Don't give me that, you're such a liar."

"Whatever, I have to go."

Sasuke grabbed the last shirt and lifted the box into his arms and walked away. Sakura only watched his retreating back, she was kind of ticked at Ino for chasing him off.

"Ino, why did you have to come over here and do that?"

"Why? Were you expecting something to happen?"

"What no, why would you say that?"

She blushed at the thought. Sakura wasn't expecting anything to happen between them, or was she. Nothing would have happened anyway, but then again, something could have occurred. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ino who was trying to get her attention.

"Did you say something?"

"Yeah, you wanted something to happen with Sasuke, did you want him to kiss you? Or maybe ask you out?"

"Ino shut up."

"Why, am I right?"

Sakura ignored her and walked off to find Hinata and Tenten. Ino simply followed her, and kept asking her questions.

Sasuke walked up to the registers and saw Sasori with a huge grin on his face. He looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"You and that girl, you like her don't you? Who is she? What's her name?"

Sasori was getting a little too excited and Sasuke it gave him the creeps. He walked away and went to the back room to put the box back and Sasori followed quickly behind him.

"I don't like her."

"Yes you do."

"Shut up and drop it will you."

"Fine, fine, I'll get the answer sooner or later."

Sasori smiled again before his face got serious. He straightened his posture before he began to speak again.

"So, how's life at home?"

"Fine."

He wasn't buying what Sasuke was saying; he knew something was up. He knew from the signs that Sasuke gave, that something else happened at home.

"How long has he been beating you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened, how did he find out, no one has ever had the slightest clue. He shifted some boxes around before setting the one he had on top of the others.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't try and lie to me Sasuke, your dad, he hits and beats you doesn't he?"

His heart began racing, he never said a word of this to anyone before. Would now even be a good time?

"How did you find out?"

"I've known for a while, Sasuke I've noticed how you flinch whenever someone grabs your shoulder or tries to mess around with you, you never talk about your dad, or your home life, you've pushed all of your friends away. You expect me to believe all of that was caused by your mom and Itachi's deaths?"

Sasuke looked away from him, his hair shadowed his eyes. What should he do? Would Sasori tell anyone?

"Sasuke, you need to tell the police."

"I can't, I-"

"WHY CAN'T YOU? THIS MAN! YOUR FATHER IS ABUSING YOU AND ALL YOU SAY IS YOU CAN'T!"

"YOU DON'T THINK I WANT TO TELL SOMEONE! THE FACT IS I CAN'T SASORI! MY DAD! MY FATHER THREATENED TO HURT MY FRIENDS IF I SAID A WORD! I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO GO THROUGH A MILLION BEATINGS I CAN'T LET THEM GET HURT!"

Sasuke had light tears sliding down his face as he ran out of the back room and clocked out then left the store. He left Sasori standing there with wide eyes, obviously in shock. What he hadn't known was that Sakura had seen him run out of the store, being as curious as she was, she trailed after him.

He kept running as far as he could go, but he stopped as soon as he made it outside. Walking down the sidewalk, he didn't know where he was going until he came to a stop near the park that was just a little ways away from the mall. There weren't very many kids out there right now; it was starting to get late so he walked in. There was a set of swings so he went over and sat down on one. The wind had kicked up slightly as it blew through his hair, drying the tears onto his face. He looked up into the sky as he saw an image of his mother appear in the clouds.

'_Why has my life turned out this way? Mom, I need help.'_

"I don't know what to do," He whispered to himself as another tear fell down his face.

"Do what?"

Sasuke jumped at the new voice, he hadn't even heard them come up behind him, it sounded feminine. Quickly wiping his eyes, the person who spoke walked around so they stood in front of him, giving him a full view of their face. It was Sakura; she seemed to pop up out of nowhere every time he was somewhere.

"Sasuke are you ok?" She asked her usual question.

"I'm fine, would stop asking me that every single time you see me," He growled out through his teeth.

"Quit lying to me and maybe I will."

"I'm not lying about anything."

He stood to leave and turned his back on Sakura. She didn't want him to take off, so as he began to leave she ran up to him with tears streaming down her cheeks and hugged him tightly from behind.

"I wish you would talk to me Sasuke, I want to help you."

Sasuke yelled in pain causing Sakura to let him go and fall to his knees. He clutched his torso as the pain burned though his skin. Starting to fear something was terribly wrong, Sakura immediately knelt down to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. He flinched away from her touch then stood up and began backing away from her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"You're lying Sasuke, lift up your shirt."

"What? No."

"Sasuke."

He was about to turn and run but Sakura grabbed his arms, then reached for the bottom of his shirt before pulling it up to reveal his torso. What she saw made her blood run cold. There were bruises, old and knew, and some scars, fresh and faded. Her cold fingers brushed across his abdomen, running along all the bruises. Sasuke's breath quickened before he forced himself to pull away and put his shirt back down.

"What happened? All of those couldn't have come from the fights you've been in with Daisuke."

"So, my dad gets drunk and hits me sometimes, its no big deal."

"No big deal? Sasuke you have to tell somebody about this!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I can't, and you can't either, promise me you won't tell."

Sakura looked into his eyes and nodded. She regretted that promise; when Sasuke sprinted off, she fell to her knees crying. What was she supposed to do? Should she still tell somebody? Try to help him out of this mess? Tears fell more violently as she tried to stand and walk back to the mall. She was sure the girls were looking for her.

**A/N Ok, Sakura now knows, but what will she do and what will happen next :P haha Please read and review. ^_^**


	8. Had Enough

Chapter 8: Had Enough

~This time I finally see the reason why I can't do this alone~

**A/N Damn, sorry guys, I had wanted to post this on Sunday, but I had some issues that needed to be handled, my best friend needed me more than the story did and so did my graduation crap, high school is almost done, thank god. Anyway here's the next chapter, sorry for the wait. ^_^**

Recap:

_"So, my dad gets drunk and hits me sometimes, its no big deal."_

_"No big deal? Sasuke you have to tell somebody about this!" Sakura exclaimed._

_"I can't, and you can't either, promise me you won't tell."_

_Sakura looked into his eyes and nodded. She regretted that promise; when Sasuke sprinted off, she fell to her knees crying. What was she supposed to do? Should she still tell somebody? Try to help him out of this mess? Tears fell more violently as she tried to stand and walk back to the mall. She was sure the girls were looking for her.  
_  
Sasuke made it home, his heart was racing uncontrollably as he leaned against the front door and slid down to a sitting position. What in the hell did he just do? He spilled the darkest secret he ever kept to her. The question is, would she stick to her word and not tell anyone? And what about Sasori? He was able to figure it out on his own. One of them was going to get the police involved; he felt it in his gut. Too many people were already finding out, his father would surely give him a beating if he knew what he just did.

"Fuck," He muttered to himself as he rested his head in his hands, "I'm so dead."

Sakura made her way back to the mall and as she suspected all of her friends were there waiting outside for her. The girls were the first to start questioning her. Sakura didn't answer right away, only stared at them. But she had to force the answers out, even if it was just a lie.

"I just needed some air," She lied, even if she wanted so badly to tell them the truth about Sasuke.

"You sure you're okay," Naruto asked.

He nodded hesitantly when Sakura said yes. Glancing over at Hinata, she shrugged while she had a blush lingering on her face. He only grinned at her before turning to the guys. As they began to walk to their cars, Ino being Ino came up to Hinata grinning evilly. Sakura and Tenten laughed, they knew why.

"So, Hinata, do you think Naruto likes you?"

Hinata hadn't expected this, well maybe she did. Ino always tried to set them up, especially Sakura and Sasuke. She simply ignored Ino, not wanting to get involved with her constant questioning, frankly she was shy and embarrassed about the thought of Naruto even liking her.

"Ino, leave the poor girl alone," Tenten giggled, Hinata silently thanked her when Ino stopped her questions, but that's when she turned on Tenten.

"So Tenten."

"Don't even think about it."

"Damn it," Ino laughed.

Sakura laughed at them, maybe it was time for Ino to get the questions instead of them. She was always bugging them about their crushes and trying to set them up. Grinning, Sakura walked up to Ino and said,

"So Ino, about you and Shikamaru."

Ino blushed several shades of pink as she gave a nervous laugh. This made them laugh as she tried to play it off as something else.

"Oh that, it's nothing."

The boys were walking not too far from the girls, and they heard bits of their conversations. Especially when they were talking about Ino, when she blushed is what really caught Shikamaru's attention.

"Hey Shikamaru, I think Ino likes you," Naruto teased, "Her face says it all, and you heard what Sakura said."

He did nothing but simply stare at the blonde girl in front of him. She couldn't really like him could she; he always thought he wasn't her type. Shikamaru's face held a tint of pink as he even thought about him and Ino together. Luckily Neji and Naruto hadn't noticed it, they would surely have given him crap about it. Now all he had to decide was if he should ask her out or not. The dance was coming up at school next Friday, he had completely forgotten about it. That would be a good opportunity.

Neji seemed to share his thoughts, as he too thought about asking Tenten to the dance. Naruto on the other hand still hadn't guessed Hinata's affection for him. He was so clueless to this fact, everyone else noticed except him.

They headed home since nighttime had already begun to roll in. Each of them went to bed peacefully, except Sakura, she was wide-awake. She still couldn't get over the fact that Sasuke's father beats him, she was scared, scared for his safety, scared for his life. But what could she do, he made her promise she wouldn't tell anyone. Her question though was, did anyone else know?

Sasuke was restless in his sleep, he kept having nightmares that his dad found out Sakura and Sasori knew about the beatings he went through. Slowly sitting up from his bed, he walked over to the window and once again just sat and stared at the sky. A fresh bruise on his cheek was his punishment for crossing his drunken dad earlier. The stinging sensation still lingered even after a few hours.

He was going to end up in the hospital one of these days he knew it. If not from the beatings he received, it would most likely be from sleep deprivation. Sasuke hasn't had a decent nights sleep in months. Ever since the abusive actions started, he has never wanted to fall asleep, fearing the worst and he would never wake up. Also because so many thoughts kept him awake, he didn't know how to put them to rest.

Sighing deeply, Sasuke pushed open the window and let the cool night air sweep across his cheeks. The coolness of its touch soothed the aching feeling on his face. Not to sound crazy or anything, but to him it felt like his mothers touch after she had been outside in the cold too long. Smooth, cool, but yet held certain warmth. A warmth only a mother's love and care could give their child. With those thoughts, Sasuke had to hold back a quiet sob that threatened to break free from his throat.

_'Mom, I wish you were here, you don't know how much I need you, how much I need your arms around me, to just give me a little comfort.'_

He hadn't realized it, but he was crying, no matter how hard he tried to hold them back, they managed to get around his defenses and scatter down his face. Right now, he needed someone, anyone to give him something, a little hope, a little faith, that he was going to be okay. Even if it were just a small gleam of it, he didn't care, he'd even settle for his brother's teasing for crying out loud. Or the affectionate way his brother ruffled his hair to show that he cared for him.

But he'd never receive that; his father had put a stop to it months ago. No more father/son activities, no more family events. Every other family had been normal, but his had to go and get screwed up in just one night. One night was all that it took for his dad to completely change into something that Sasuke would never recognize as human.

The memories of that night still plagued his mind. He had watched his mother die in his arms. Her blood stained his hands and clothes that were now long gone. She had been so brave even as she lay there dying. The last words she had said to him were,

_'Don't cry sweetheart, everything will be ok'_

If only she would have been right about that. His brother was no different, he had made it to the hospital that night, but he died an hour later from blood loss. The ambulances didn't make it in time for either of them. His father blames him for their deaths, and honestly Sasuke believed so as well.

_'I never deserved this second chance at life; maybe it's a good thing I get beat mom. Maybe in some way, I deserve this abusive behavior to repent for yours and Itachi's deaths. Maybe its my punishment, death would have been too easy.'_

Resting his head against the wall, he had a thought occur to him. He had to call Sakura about their project, and give an answer for her invitation to dinner on Sunday.

_'We could do the music project tomorrow over here; my dad is going to be gone for the day for a business meeting out of town. But what about Sunday?'_

These questions ran through his head all throughout the night. Not that he would actually sleep anyway. So he just stayed up like usual, stayed awake while his eyes burned for the rest they desired. He didn't know what to expect himself to do; the hours seem to go slowly during the night.

But he managed to get through it, early at six am he watched as his dad, dressed in a brown business suit, get into the car and drive off to his meeting. He was going to be gone for a while, that was Sasuke's hope anyway. Deciding to get a shower, he grabbed some clean clothes and went into his bathroom and showered himself in hot water for about an hour.

After he finished, he dressed in a white shirt and a pair of black jeans, not baggy like some guys wore, but they weren't exactly skinny jeans either, then slipped on his converse. He figured he would go into the music room down in the basement and play around with some ideas until he decided if he was going to call Sakura or not. He wanted to get the project done with today, the sooner the better. It wasn't because he didn't want to be around Sakura, he was just afraid for her safety. There was no telling what his dad could do to her, and just those thoughts made Sasuke cringe.

It was hours later, when Sakura found that she had woken up at noon. She could hardly sleep last night and she was betting her parents thought she was sick. She wasn't sick, only tired and worried about a certain boy. Not giving anything else a thought, she too decided to take a shower, but not spending an hour like some people did.

Emerging from the shower about twenty minutes later, she was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black spaghetti strap. As soon as she threw her clothes in the dirty clothesbasket, her cell phone rang. She wasn't expecting a call today, but when she picked it up, it had a number she hadn't recognized. Deciding to answer it anyway she hit the talk button and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

The person on the other end hesitated before they spoke.

"Uh, Sakura, its Sasuke."

Sakura's heart began racing, she definitely wasn't expecting a phone call, especially from him. Taking a moment to calm herself, she took a deep breath and answered him back.

"Hi Sasuke."

"I was wondering; did you want to come over today to work on the project? My dad isn't home right now so it would be a good time to."

"I'll come over, but you have some explaining to do, and I won't go over there otherwise."

Sasuke sighed and clenched the phone tightly in his hand.

"Fine. Be over in 15 minutes or so?"

"Ok, see you there."

They each hung up the phone, Sasuke stood in the kitchen thinking about what he was going to say to her. Was he really going to tell her everything? This girl that came into his life, that he hasn't known that long, she was going to hear the whole story. A story he never wanted to talk about with anyone. He knew the emotional background was going to surface and he may end up crying in front of her. Just thinking about that, he didn't want to go through with this. Would he run away? Like he always had before. He didn't have any other chance to call Sakura back when he heard a knock on the door. Making his way to answer it, he kicked aside one of his dad's shoes that he left near the door. Opening the door he spotted some pink hair, of course, she always appeared at the most inconvenient times.

"Hi Sasuke," She smiled slightly as he fully opened the door, but that's when she saw the bandage on his arm, but dismissed it thinking he received it from his dad.

"Hi," He replied in almost a whisper, "Shall we get to work."

Sakura nodded her head and they headed down into the basement. Sasuke had music written already and he needed to see if Sakura approved of it for their project, then they could begin on the lyrics. Lucky for him she had liked it, and she continued on saying that he had real talent for putting together music and should try to get signed on for a record deal. He only faked a laugh replying that it would never happen in his lifetime.

They continued working for about two more hours, until they had their lyrics to what they considered perfect. Perfect meaning something that would get them a passing grade in music class. But they would never know until they had to present it next week. Returning up from the basement, the duo walked up the stairs to Sasuke's room so he could type it up on his computer, then print it out. Neatness counted in Kakashi's class seeing as how he didn't grade on much else in the class except the quality of the songs that were written; the grades had to come from somewhere.

Sasuke finished up the typing and had it printed out. He completed his task by printing a second copy and handing it to Sakura for her to take home. She thanked him before setting it aside and putting a serious look on her face. He promised her answers and she intended to have them no matter what.

"So Sasuke, are you going to explain everything to me, you said you would over the phone and I'm not going to let you back out."

"What do you want me to say? I think it's pretty obvious to you what happens in this house."

"I want to know why your dad does what he does."

Sasuke hesitated at what she wanted to know; he honestly didn't know the answer to why his father beat him almost every night. Looking into her emerald eyes he opened his mouth to say something, but that was until they heard the front door slam open and a slurred masculine voice yelled Sasuke's name.

Sasuke's heart seemed to stop as his dark orbs widened in fear. His ears picked up on the sound of footsteps bounding up the stairs in an angry manor. Sakura looked at his fear-stricken face and she began to shake with fear. Thinking quickly, Sasuke grabbed her hand and led her into his closet and pushed her gently inside.

"For the love of god Sakura don't leave this closet no matter what," He stressed in a whisper.

"But Sasu…"

She was cut off when Sasuke placed his hand on her cheek, his eyes looking into hers, pleading.

"Sakura, please."

With that he turned and shut the door just as Fugaku appeared at the doorway. His tie was wrinkled and placed around his neck untied; the jacket of his suit was left open with his white shirt in a mess underneath it. His eyes were clouded over from the alcohol, he wasn't in his right mind; not that he ever was to begin with. Sakura had opened the closet door a little as she saw the large man walk into the room.

"Dad, I thought you were out town for a meeting."

"It got cancelled, so that gives me more time to do this," He revealed his point when he hit Sasuke across the face.

Sakura gasped quietly as she saw Sasuke's body hit the floor. Blood dripped from his lip onto his white shirt as he turned to look up at his dad who began to make his way over to him. Fugaku brought a kick into the young teens stomach before dragging him up off the floor and throwing him against the wall. Tears were beginning to sting at Sakura's eyes as the man she saw before her hit Sasuke again in the face and let him fall onto his side. Stumbling his way out, Fugaku went to his room and collapsed on his bed. He was going to be out for a while.

As soon as he was gone, Sakura ran out of the closet and went to shut the bedroom door before dropping her knees by Sasuke's side. She turned him onto his back and rested his head in her lap as he groaned in pain; blood was running down his chin in a small flow. Her tears fell from her eyes and landed on Sasuke's cheeks, causing him to open his eyes and look at her.

"Sakura," He strained out, "Don't cry for me, I'm not worth it."

"Not worth it?" She sobbed as more tears fell from her eyes, "Sasuke, everyone is worth it, especially you."

Sasuke looked into her emerald eyes as tears filled them and slid down her face. He closed his eyes as he felt the pain run though his body and waited for it to subside. After it passed he attempted to sit up, ignoring Sakura's pleas for hi, to stay down. Struggling to his closet he grabbed a black sleeveless shirt and walked to his bathroom. Sakura hadn't known what to do or think for that matter. She stood and walked to the bathroom doorway thinking he already changed his shirt, but walked in when he was shirtless and staring at his torso in the mirror. She blushed deeply before regaining her composure when she saw all the bruises, and the fresh bruise on his abdomen.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

"I just got another beating from a man who raised me, what the hell do you think," He muttered under his breath as he grabbed a small washcloth and wet it to wipe off the blood on his mouth.

Sakura set her gaze to the floor, sure it was a stupid question to ask but he didn't have to be so defensive about it. More tears came down her face as Sasuke glanced up at her. His eyes softened at her, slipping on his shirt he walked up to her and lifted her chin up to look her in the eyes.

"Sakura I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything, when I yelled at you at the school and just now when I- listen you need to get out of here. I don't know how long he'll be out, chances are the whole night, or he could wake up any minute. But you shouldn't be here, I put you in danger by even inviting you over."

"Sasuke, you need help."

"I know I do, but my dad, he threatened to hurt Naruto and the others if I told anyone, but you and my boss at work know and that's too many people already."

Sakura reached her hands up and placed them on both of his cheeks.

"Talk to my parents, they can get the police and have your dad in prison before he can do anything to Naruto and everybody else."

"Sakura, I don't know, I.."

"Sasuke please, I want to help you, please talk to them."

He removed her hands from his face and headed out of the bathroom to his desk. He grabbed a small black box and opened it up. He took out what seemed to be a necklace, a necklace with a small cherry blossom for the pendant. He turned around when she came up behind him.

"Sakura, I've never done this before, but this," He held up the necklace, "This was my mother's, I've treasured this as if I'd die without it, but when I give it to someone, it means I've put my absolute trust in them."

Sakura didn't know what to think at his words, what was he trying to say. Her question was answered when he grabbed her hand and set the pendant in her palm.

"If you can absolutely promise me that Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, Tenten and you won't get hurt…Then I place my trust in you and would be willing to talk to your parents tomorrow."

He finished his small speech as he closed her hand around the pendant. She hadn't expected this, he just gave her his mother's necklace, but that only increased her determination to help him. She nodded her head as he gave a small smile. Hopefully this would work, she was really his only hope.

"I think you need to get out of here now," He urged as he led her downstairs as quietly as he could to the front door.

"We will get you out of this, just hang on okay, it won't take long."

Sasuke nodded as he opened the door and she ran off to her parent's car and drove off. Sasuke shut and locked the door, hoping and praying to god that he hadn't made the biggest mistake in his life.

**A/N Whew, okay, there's the next chapter, now, I plan to update this weekend, but that's not a promise, it all depends on how many reviews I receive on this chapter. Well until next time, later guys please read and review ^____^**


	9. Against The Odds

Chapter 9: Against The Odds

~Anger.  
It's a peculiar yet predictable emotion.  
It begins as a drop of water. An irritant. A frustration.  
Nothing big, just an aggravation~

Recap:

_"I think you need to get out of here now," He urged as he led her downstairs as quietly as he could to the front door._

_"We will get you out of this, just hang on okay, it won't take long."_

_Sasuke nodded as he opened the door and she ran off to her parent's car and drove off. Sasuke shut and locked the door, hoping and praying to god that he hadn't made the biggest mistake in his life._

He walked away from the door and went back upstairs. Looking down the hall he noticed his father passed out on the bed, he sprawled on it, not even covered by the blanket. Nothing ever changed around here; his dad went to work, got drunk, came home, beat him and then passed out afterwards. Sasuke gasped as another wave of pain shot throughout his body, he had to steady himself against the wall to keep from falling to the floor.

_'Shit.'_

Stumbling to his room, he walked over to his bed and laid down, the comfort of the bed wasn't enough to ease the pain, but it was better than nothing. Lying on his back, he looked at the ceiling as his vision become blurry, he was getting dizzy, but from what? The beating his dad gave him? Or was it just exhaustion? Whatever it was, it caused him to close his eyes, what a bad choice that was. Images of that night that changed his life, flashed through his mind. His mother, his brother, and the way his father looked at him, a look of hatred after he stared upon his wife's body in his arms, as he held his son in his.

Sasuke's eyes shot open and he sat up as quickly as he could without causing himself a lot of pain. Trying to rid the memories from his head he walked over to his desk and grabbed his music player. Getting back to his bed he crawled onto it and shifted so he was laying his side. He put the headphones into his ears and played some rock and metal music. The sound of the guitars seemed to keep his mind from wondering to certain things he didn't want to remember.

It was around noon the next day when Sasuke found himself sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. He had taken his headphones out sometime during the night and now he only sat in silence. His eyes were slightly closed, he wanted to sleep, but then again he didn't. It wasn't long before he heard his dads voice; he was talking to someone. But whom would he be talking to right now? It wasn't like he had friends to talk with.

_'Shit, did I leave my phone downstairs?'_

Struggling out of his bed as best as he could, he started to look for his phone. Which he could not find no matter how hard he looked. His eyes widened when he heard his father coming up the stairs. When his door was thrown open, Fugaku stood there with a frown on his face. He wasn't happy and Sasuke knew it, but what made him angry now, he obviously wasn't drunk like usual.

"So, I thought you didn't have friends to hang with anymore Sasuke."

"What?"

"You left your phone downstairs, and you received a call from Mrs. Haruno. She said she still hadn't gotten your answer to her invitation to dinner."

Sasuke's eyes widened, this was another thing about his father that he hated. He had no respect for his privacy, but he really shouldn't expect it. There were not a lot of secrets in this house, and the ones Sasuke managed to keep from him, were nothing of importance to the man.

"I answered, and we will go, I didn't want to seem rude, and having to keep up the charade of a good family was needed as well. Yes I said we, she invited me to join as well. But you best be warned, when we return home, you're going to get a beating worse than hell."

Fugaku left after he tossed the phone onto the floor with brute force, luckily it didn't break, much to Sasuke's surprise. He picked it up and set it aside, tonight he had to do something, but what, the chance to talk to Sakura's parents was long gone.

Sakura came down the stairs dressed in a red t-shirt and black jeans, she had taken a shower and she felt refreshed. She came into the kitchen to see her mother washing dishes as she hummed a song Sakura hadn't recognized.

"Hey mom," Sakura greeted with a smile.

"Hey Sak," Her mother replied calling her by her nickname, I called Sasuke's phone while you were in the shower, and I ended up talking to his dad, so now they are both coming for dinner tonight. I called since you didn't get his answer but now we have two guests joining us tonight."

Sakura froze in her tracks as she looked at her mom, but the pink-haired woman hadn't seen the expression on the young girl's face. What was Sakura supposed to say? She didn't want him coming over because he beat his son? There was no way she would believe that without evidence. That's just how her parents were, and she had to find a way to get evidence before she even thought about telling them.

"Uh, I need to make a call, did you leave my phone upstairs?"

"Yes I did, why?"

She didn't have a chance to have her question answered when her daughter took off upstairs to her room. She shook her head while giggling, saying something about teenagers these days.

Sakura got to her room and grabbed the cell phone that was sitting on her bed. She looked through the contacts and found Sasuke's number, which she saved when he called her yesterday. She selected it and hit the call button then placed it against her ear. The sound of ringing was heard as she waited for him to pick up. It wasn't long before she heard his deep voice on the other end.

"Sasuke, I heard that your father is coming tonight too."

"Yeah he is, what can I say, he ruins everything."

"We can still find a way through this, there has to be a way to have my parents hear you out."

"Just face it Sakura, no one can help me, as long as my father is here I'm never going to make it."

"Sasuke don't say that! Everyone can get help, there is always some way to get it. I'm not giving up I'll try to figure something out. You gave me your mother's necklace, you put your trust in me, and I'm not going to let you continue suffering."

"Sakura, I-I have to go, I'll see you tonight."

Before she could say anything, he hung up. She sighed and set the phone aside, she would get him out of that hell. But the thing was how would she do it? They couldn't exactly go along with their plan to talk to her parents tonight

Sasuke sat on his bed, his heart racing. What was this feeling, like his chest was swelling with an emotion he hadn't recognized in a long time. But he still couldn't place it; it felt warm and seemed to heal his heart just a little. He hadn't realized it, and he would surely deny it, but he was falling for Sakura, and he was falling hard.

It wasn't until about six o'clock when Fugaku dragged Sasuke to the car and they headed over to the Haruno household. He wore a long sleeved black shirt underneath a red t-shirt and his black pants and converse as usual. His dad was dressed in some black pants and a nice looking brown shirt with a jacket over it. He didn't want anything too special seeing as he didn't want to go to this dinner anyway.

Fugaku turned down a street and drove until he reached a two-story house, one that was similar to theirs. Stopping on the curb, he parked the car and turned the ignition off and stepped out of the vehicle. Sasuke hesitated before opening his side of the door and getting out as well. He walked behind his father as they headed to the front door in silence, neither of them said a word only heard the sound of the others breathing. He knocked on the door and the family of three greeted them.

"Good evening Mr. Uchiha, we're glad you could make it," Mr. Haruno greeted and held out his hand.

"Thank you Mr. Haruno, I appreciate you having us over," Fugaku lied through his teeth.

Fugaku cast a glance towards Sasuke causing him to look away to the floor. He didn't want to catch his father's gaze not now, because he knew when they went home, his whole life would completely change to what he was used to. Those thoughts caused Sasuke to flinch slightly and this didn't go unnoticed by Sakura's mom and Sakura for that matter.

"I'm Keiji Haruno, this is my wife Mana and my daughter Sakura," Keiji explained as he gestured to the two women next to him.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Fugaku and this is Sasuke," Fugaku said as he roughly placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"So this is the famous Sasuke, Sakura never stops talking about you," Mana teased as she smiled.

The young teen looked to her mother, her eyes pleading for her to keep quiet. The last thing she wanted was for Fugaku to figure out that they were even close to being friends. If he does figure that out, Sasuke would surely pay dearly for it and she didn't want that on her conscious. He seemed to be ignoring everything his father was saying obviously having the same thoughts as Sakura was.

"Well, come now, dinner is ready," Mana stated as she ushered all of them into the dining and started serving out the plates of food.

"This looks delicious Mana," Fugaku lied again; he seemed to be pretty good at it.

"Thank you Fugaku."

The five of them sat down at table and began eating; each apparently enjoyed their portion of food, all except Sasuke. He just sat there as he slouched in his seat, moving his fork around the food. Mana saw this and finally decided to say something.

"What's the matter Sasuke, are you not hungry?"

Before he had the chance to answer, Fugaku interrupted him by saying,

"You'll have to forgive Sasuke, he doesn't have a very big appetite, which would explain why he is so thin, he hasn't had a big appetite since the accident."

Mana nodded in understanding deciding not to question the subject any longer, as did Keiji, but Sakura knew that couldn't be more of a lie. It was a lie, Sasuke was thin because Fugaku kept him on a limited food supply, and he only received a little bit of food every so often. He was basically being starved, but he has been going on like this for so long, he really doesn't eat much anymore, sometimes hardly at all.

They finished dinner about fifteen minutes later, and Mana had taken the dishes into the kitchen then they all moved to the living room. Sitting on the couch they figured they would talk for a little bit and Fugaku wanted some answers.

"So, I have a question, why does your daughter keep talking about Sasuke all the time," He faked a smile to show he only curious.

"Well he saved our daughter from.."

Sakura glanced at her parents as tears came to her eyes, she really didn't want to relive those memories. It wasn't something anyone wanted to remember, it was an event that scarred her and she was still mentally getting over it.

"Sakura dear I'm sorry, why don't you and Sasuke go upstairs and hang out in your room," Mana suggested, she trusted her daughter not to do anything.

She nodded as Sasuke stood from his seating on the floor and walked with her upstairs to her room. Fugaku eyed them as they left; he was suspicious as to what their relationship was. It doesn't matter; he would give Sasuke what was coming to him as soon as they left for home. He would make it hell for him. Mana and Keiji engaged him in a conversation as he slipped his son into the back of his mind.

Sasuke and Sakura arrived in her room, and he glanced around at the posters that hung on the walls, along with several recent pictures of her and Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, and Tenten. It looked like she was getting along just fine with them, and inside he was happy for them. At least they had her to hang with; maybe it would make up for him not being there. He knew he had hurt them, but it was a small price to pay instead of seeing them get sent to the hospital.

"Well make yourself at home," Sakura said as she wiped her eyes.

Walking over to her bed he sat down, before letting his body fall backwards so he was lying down. Sakura came over and got into the same position as he did, she blushed when she realized she was closer than she thought she was. Sasuke hadn't noticed mostly because he wasn't looking at her but at her ceiling. She turned her head towards him as he looked at her. The bruise on his cheek was faint but she had seen it, his father was a terrible man and needed to be locked away somewhere before he could do anymore damage to his only son.

Reaching her hand up, she placed it on his cheek and rubbed the sore spot causing him to flinch, she stopped before continuing with her actions. Sasuke found it rather comforting, even if it stung a little, she really cared for him and her actions showed it. The way her skin made contact with his, had his heart racing wildly. He didn't try to shove that feeling away instead he embraced it. He knew this was possibly the last chance he would see her, if his dad couldn't control himself tonight something could go wrong.

Sakura's face was tinted pink and deciding to take a chance, she started moving closer to his face. Sasuke hadn't expected what she did next; and what she did made his breath hitch, and then she kissed him lightly on the lips, as his heart seemed to stop. His eyes widened at her daring move, but he jumped from his spot when he heard his dad yell his name saying something about leaving. He looked away from Sakura as he stood to leave.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that."

But he left without a word to her, his mind was going crazy, he didn't know what to think about what just happened. His thoughts just came all at once and he didn't even notice his father's glare at him as they got into the car and drove off. He was silent until his dad spoke up.

"You are forbidden from ever seeing that girl again."

He hit Sasuke in the face while he stopped at a light. Sasuke merely looked away, this was only a taste of what was to come. The man next to him began yelling, saying that he was worthless and didn't deserve anything in this world that would make him happy in anyway.

"EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING THAT GOES WRONG IS YOUR FAULT! I REGRET THAT YOU WERE EVER BORN, YOU WERE JUST A MISTAKE!"

That one word, that single pairing of letters is what stung the most. Mistake. Was that really what he thought? Apparently the father Sasuke knew was long gone and dead, the father he once had was proud to have him as a son. The emotional abuse wasn't worth this pain, so Sasuke did what not a lot of people would do. He removed his seatbelt and grabbed the door handle and quickly opened it. The door flew open as Sasuke jumped out of the car; he tumbled into the trees that were on the side of the rode. The car immediately stopped as Fugaku climbed out and searched for Sasuke in the dark. But he hid himself as well as he could among the large and small trees. Fugaku growled angrily and slowly walked to the side of the rode. Dark clouds had begun to move in as it began to rain, rain that was chilling to the bone.

"LISTEN SASUKE YOU HAD BETTER NEVER COME BACK TO THAT HOUSE. WHEN YOU DO YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET IT ALL!

With that said, the large man got back into his car and drove off.

'_You'll have to return at some point Sasuke, and when you do, I'll be there waiting for you.'_

He smirked at his thoughts as he continued to drive back towards his home. Sasuke would definitely not expect what he had planned when he returned. He had to come back sooner or later to get his stuff, and Fugaku knew it wouldn't be long until he did come home.

Sasuke was panting as he ran; the rain pelted his face and caused his hair to cling to his face. He didn't know where he was going, but it was better than returning home with that man. Nothing was worth going anywhere with that man. He came to a stop, then glanced up with he realized he was standing outside Sakura's house. Was it just instinct that brought him here? The light in Sakura's room was on; she was up on the second story so how was she supposed to know he was here. But he saw his answer when he spotted a vine like plant that crawled up the side of the house. The question was would it support his weight?

He took the chance and began climbing his way up. When he arrived at the window, he spotted Sakura sitting on her bed leaning against the wall. She was hugging her knees to her chest as she cried. Guilt immediately sunk into his heart. After he walked out on her earlier, he figured she would be upset. But what was he supposed to think; she kissed him out of nowhere. Shaking those thoughts from his head he tapped on the window immediately startling Sakura. Her head snapped up as she caught site of Sasuke at her window out in the rain.

Stumbling to her feet she quickly ran over to the pane of glass and lifted it open. Sasuke fell inside as she attempted to grab him but to no avail. He sat up, his heart still racing from when he was running. Rubbing his back, Sakura tried to calm him down.

"Sasuke, what happened?"

"I can't return to that house with that man Sakura, I can't stay there anymore."

"We have to do something, but what, my parents already went to bed, they have to get up early tomorrow."

"I don't know what to do, all of my stuff is back at that house."

"It will be okay."

"How Sakura, how is anything going to be okay?"

Sakura didn't know how to respond to his question. She was at loss for words, what could she say that would make it all right for him?

"I may as well go back, I'm going to get my stuff and then I'm going to run."

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know. Sakura do me a favor, if I'm not at school tomorrow, it will be because I have left or you could assume the worst, but I want you to tell Naruto and the others what has been happening, I want you to tell them everything. And tell them I'm sorry."

Sasuke was about to climb back out the window when he felt petite arms wrap around his torso. Her warmth was something he needed; her comfort is what he needed.

"You are going to tell them, because you are going to be at that school tomorrow, I'm not letting you return to that house. Don't go Sasuke. I'd rather die than let you go back."

He looked down as his hair covered his eyes. He was trembling slightly and then he whispered something that Sakura hadn't heard.

"What?"

"Why? Why do you care so? Why would you go so far for me?"

Spinning around he was released from her grasp. He stared her right in the eyes and emerald clashed with onyx. Tears were brimming his eyes, and he didn't bother to try to wipe them away.

"Because Sasuke, it may not seem like it and you might think its too early, but I love you."

Taking this chance she reached up and grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him again just as she did earlier. Sasuke didn't have time to react before she pulled away and looked him in the eyes again.

"You can't possibly love me."

"I do, stop doubting yourself.

Sasuke's tears finally fell freely from his eyes as Sakura embraced him in a tight hug, only tight enough to where it wouldn't harm him with the injuries he had received before. He cried and didn't bother to stop; he needed this right now. Crying to shed the pain and wrapped in someone's arms to wipe it all away.

**A/N Okay, that's finally done, hope the kissing scenes weren't too lame, but they are supposed to be quick and innocent. Please Read and Review, I appreciate all the ones I received on the previous chapter. Later. ^_^**


	10. Preparation

Chapter 10: Preparation

~All this time spent in vain.  
Wasted years.  
Wasted gain.  
All is lost.  
Hope remains.  
And this war's not over~

**A/N Thanks for all the reviews you guys, I appreciate them, so here's your reward, the next chapter if Let Me In**

Recap:

_"You can't possibly love me."_

_"I do, stop doubting yourself._

_Sasuke's tears finally fell freely from his eyes as Sakura embraced him in a tight hug, only tight enough to where it wouldn't harm him with the injuries he had received before. He cried and didn't bother to stop; he needed this right now. Crying to shed the pain and wrapped in someone's arms to wipe it all away._

They remained in that position for about a good ten-fifteen minutes. Sasuke's tears had stopped for the time being; now Sakura just held him and for that he was grateful. She hadn't known what so say so holding him in her arms was really the only thing she could think of. It was silent until she spoke up in a soft voice.

"Are you all right?"

"I don't know," Sasuke whispered back as he sat up from her embrace and looked her in the eyes, "I don't know what to think anymore."

"You need to get some sleep, don't think too much on this right now. Let me get u a different shirt and maybe some bandages for your face."

"What do you mean?"

"You're bleeding."

"What? Where?"

"On the side of your head, on your temple."

Sasuke reached up and touched the spot she mentioned. He flinched when he felt the sting from his touch. He sighed before nodding his head and she went to her closet. Rummaging around she found a black t-shirt that she snatched from her father's closet not too long ago. She threw it to him before walking out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. That was where she grabbed the first aid kit and returned to the room.

She stopped instantly when she saw Sasuke was shirtless, she always seemed to walk in on him when he was in that situation. Blushing a shade of pink that put her pink hair to shame, she walked in as he turned to her. A sudden jolt of pain shot through his abdomen and he fell to his knees. Sakura wasted no time and ran over to him. She knelt to his side, as he clutched the sore spot he forced back a yell. She was at loss about what to do so she rubbed his back hoping it would help.

"Sasuke, what's wrong."

"I don't know, I just got this sharp pain in my abdomen."

"Let me see," She ordered as she helped him to stand.

She looked at the spot he had been clutching and saw a very dark bruise. Reaching out to touch it, Sasuke flinched and hissed in pain.  
But she didn't move her hand from that spot.

"Where did that come from?"

Sasuke glanced down and saw the bruise that she was talking about. He thought about what could have happened then realized that he may have gotten it when he jumped from the car. He gave a painful sigh as Sakura opened up the first add kit and tended to the wound on his head.

She went to put that away and decided it would be best to put some ice on the bruise that he had, so she went to the kitchen. Rummaging through the cabinets and drawers, she found what she was looking for and finished up her business and went back upstairs where Sasuke was waiting patiently for her.

"Here," Sakura handed him the ice pack, "You'll stay here tonight, maybe I can get up early enough to talk to my parents."

Before he had a chance to retort she pulled him over to her bed and pushed him gently down onto it. She walked over to her door and turned off the light switch before crawling in next to his side. Shaking her head she grabbed the ice pack from his hand and set it on his wound. Sasuke flinched from the chill that he felt before settling down. Sakura held it there as she rested her head on his chest and fell asleep soundlessly. Sasuke too went to sleep but it wasn't for long when the nightmares began to invade his mind.

Around two am, Sakura woke up; she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Fear came to her mind when she noticed Sasuke was gone. Did her parents find him in here and kick him out? Jumping from her bed, she frantically searched for him, but stopped when she saw that her window was open. She walked over and looked out but saw nothing until she turned her head to the side. There was Sasuke sitting on the roof just looking at the sky with his knees to his chest with his arms resting on them. But the detail that caught her eye was the fact that he had tears coming down his face. She crawled out of the window and strolled over to his side.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Sasuke glanced over as he wiped his eyes.

Sakura came over and sat next to him. She looped her arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"I've never been able to sleep, I always wake up in the middle of the night."

"Can I ask why?"

"Nightmares. I have night terrors about what happens with my dad. I don't sleep because I'm afraid I won't wake up if I do. It's always been that way."

"You don't have to feel that way."

"I wish what you said was true, but I do feel this way, its been like this for months. After the accident, everything changed."

"Sasuke come back to bed, I'll be here, nothing will happen to you. I want to make sure you get some sleep."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded as they both crawled back into her room. They lay down again to go to sleep, Sakura hugging him to give him some comfort; he closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep. His nightmares didn't return for the rest of the night. And for that he was grateful, sleep actually felt good for his deprived body. All the months that he lost sleep, this was what he needed, especially with someone holding him close, someone that actually cared for him.

Sakura groaned as she sat up in her bed, glancing at the clock on her wall she noticed it was seven o' clock. Her eyes widened as she hopped out of bed and ran down to the kitchen. She knew her parents were gone; they had to have left early. But she froze in shock when she arrived in the kitchen to see them sitting at the table drinking tea. Now there was something she wasn't expecting to see, she was expecting to see them gone, not sitting at the table drinking tea like nothing was ever supposed to happen. Though it was a relief to her, she was actually happy they weren't gone yet.

"Uh, I thought you guys had to leave early?"

"The meeting got cancelled so we don't have to leave as early as we thought."

Sakura nodded at her dad's response before realizing this would be a perfect time to talk to her parents. Slowly she walked over to the table and sat in the available seat. The two adults looked at her as she nervously played with her hands.

"Um mom, dad?"

"What is it sweetie?"

"You remember Sasuke right?"

"Yeah, poor thing. If he didn't have his dad who knows where he would be."

"Well that's what I want to talk to you about. You see Sasuke is in my room an.."

She didn't get the chance to finish when her dad slammed his hand down onto the table. He was angry and his face showed it.

"He's been in your room all night?!" He asked angrily.

"Yeah but dad, listen to me."

Keiji stood from his seat and left the kitchen, he bounded up the stairs and into Sakura's room. Sasuke was already up when the large man came into the room. His eyes widened when he saw the angry look on his face, he didn't look too happy to see him. Sakura and her mother came running in only seconds after.

"What the hell were you doing in my daughters room?"

"Dad stop, please."

Sasuke stood from the bed, but he must have moved the wrong way because when he got to his feet the pain from the bruise stung again. The ice pack didn't really help it last night. His knees buckled as he placed his hand on the bruise. Sakura wasted no time and ran over to him. Keiji seemed to come out of his angry state and he too went to his side with Mana not too far away.

"Sasuke are you alright?" Sakura questioned, her tone full of worry.

"No, it hurts."

"Sakura what is going on?" Keiji demanded calmly.

Keiji helped Sasuke to stand and had him sit on Sakura's bed. Mana looked to her daughter waiting for an answer as the young girl took a deep breath. Now was the time, since they would actually listen and not have her dad get any angrier then he already was. She really couldn't blame him though, a boy in her room just sent the wrong message to him, what else was he supposed to think.

"Well um, you guys, Sasuke's dad isn't who you think he is."

"What do you mean?"

Sakura looked to her father as tears came to her eyes. This was the moment that the two teens had been waiting for. They would finally be able to get Sasuke some help and away from his abusive father. But would they even believe what she was about to say. Even to her, it seemed like it was a lie, even though she knew it was true. It had to be because she has never faced something like this before and she was confident on how to handle the situation at hand.

"He abuses Sasuke."

"What? Sakura that's ridiculous."

"Its not, he does."

"We talked to him last night, he seemed nice and really cares about Sasuke."

"That's a lie. He hurts Sasuke everyday, I saw it happen with my own two eyes."

"Sweetie, this seems all far fetched."

At this moment Sasuke stood from the bed and began to walk towards the door. The three looked at him as he stopped and turned to them. His eyes held a certain look, one neither of them could explain, whether it was sorrow, loneliness or some other form of emotion, it clenched at their hearts.

"Just forget it Sakura, I already told you what I was going to do. And you know what you're going to do today when you go to school. I'm sorry for being a burden to the three of you."

"Sasuke no," Sakura said as he made a move to leave, "There is a way to prove it. Take off your shirt."

He glanced at her before shifting his gaze to her parents. Sighing he moved his arms and slowly took off his shirt. As it came off, the two adults gasped, the bruises and scars made their eyes widened in shock. They had never seen anything like this before; they've never had to deal with anything like this for that matter. The matter at hand was not something they had to rush. Sasuke's dad was an abusive man and seemed he would be irrational at any point, which at any rate would cause him to do something that no one would be able to stop if they went about this the wrong way.

"Oh dear god."

"This is what happens when your father blames you for everything, and doesn't care what happens to you," Sasuke struggled to say as his voice cracked; he was about to cry again.

Mana noticed this and as if her motherly instincts took over she approached him and then embraced him in a hug. Sasuke wasn't crying but he was pretty damn close. She held him in a way that reminded him of his mother and that alone was enough to bring the tears to the surface. Lately all the hugs he received from Sakura and the one just now from her mom, were actually helping him, if just a little bit.

"You will stay here; we're not letting you go back to that house. Keiji you'll need to go to his house when his father isn't there, he's going to need some clothes."

"But what about the rest of his stuff."

"We'll worry about that later, clothing is the most important right now."

Keiji took Sasuke to his house as Sakura stayed behind to get ready for school. Sakura's dad was a strong man and could fight against Fugaku if necessary. Luckily for them Fugaku was gone, they knew mostly because his car wasn't in the driveway. They only grabbed Sasuke's necessities plus his backpack and poetry book that was due today in creative writing. They left when Sasuke realized he didn't have his journal.

Naruto and his friends were standing out in the courtyard of the school waiting for the bell to ring. But they were also waiting for a certain pink-haired girl to arrive. Naruto simply wore a pair of black pants and a dark green shirt with a pair of converse. Neji also wore black pants but he wore a blue shirt with black and red shoes. Shikamaru was the different in the bunch since he wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a brown shirt and black shoes.

Ino and Hinata were both wearing shorts, Ino in a pair of tan ones and wearing a white shirt with white flip-flops. Hinata had black shorts with a gray shirt and black flip-flops. Tenten on the other hand, just wore a pair of blue jeans and a pink shirt and blue sandals. They didn't really want to be all dressy today, so these are the outfits they chose to wear. No need to be perfect for anyone but themselves, so they dressed they way they felt comfortable.

"Where is Sakura?"

"I don't know," Neji answered Tenten's question.

Sakura was later than usual and they were a little worried about their friend. Those worries were soon wiped away when they saw a car pull up and they spotted pink locks on the person that got out. They smiled as she stepped out the car dressed in black shorts and a pink shirt with pink flip-flops. She had to have some things match in her opinion. The teens were soon surprised when they saw Sasuke climb out of the car as well as the person who was driving drove off. He wore a long sleeved black shirt with a red shirt over it, his usual black jeans and converse as well. He didn't have his snakebites today; they hurt when he tried to put them in. That was no surprise, he's been hit in the face a lot lately.

"So Sasuke are you ready?"

"I don't know. Does feeling like I want to hide under a rock seem ready to you?"

"No it doesn't, but we'll talk to them at lunch okay?"

"All right, I'm going to head to class then. I need some time to think."

"It'll be ok Sasuke."

"I hope so."

With that being said, he walked away and headed to his first period class. Sakura made her way over to the group just as the bell rang. Their eyes each burned with the same question, a question Sakura would surely be forced to answer. He was their friend after all, and they had the right to know, even though Sasuke really didn't want anyone else to get involved, he wouldn't be able to hide it much longer.

"Sakura, why was Sasuke riding with you?" Ino asked instantly when the girl stopped when she was close enough.

"Um, you guys, there are some things you need to know about Sasuke, but he has to be the one to tell you. He and I agreed that he would come talk to you at lunch today."

"Wow really? He's actually going to talk?" Naruto questioned happily.

"Yeah, and you guys be easy on him, you'll know what I mean later on today."

None of them knew what to expect Sasuke to say, but Sakura knew, she knew all of it. The question that was on her mind throughout all her classes was, would he go through with it and tell them? He became a quiet person and didn't really talk to a whole lot of people. That could definitely cause him to struggle with this whole deal entirely, but she would make sure to be there to help put him on his feet if he felt he wouldn't be able to continue on. To make sure he was able to finish his story and finally allow his friends to come back into his life. The wall he had built was starting to crack.

Lunch came fairly quickly and the group met up at a table set further away from the other students at the school. This was at Sasuke's request; he didn't want eavesdroppers to cut in on this conversation. He needed this to just be within the small group that they had formed years ago, no more no less, well including Sakura that is. Now was the time, the time he would share his story with the very ones he pushed out of his life. And it was all because of the one girl he met, the one girl that began to heal his heart. He came forward to the table where all of them sat. Sakura was at his side and gripping his hand tightly with her own. She was there, he knew, there was nothing left to do.

'_Well, there's no turning back now.'_

**A/N Alright that's finished, whoohoo ^^ please read and review and let me know what you think.**


	11. Bitter Tidings

Chapter 11: Bitter Tidings

~Everything's so blurry  
and everyone's so fake  
and everybody's empty  
and everything is so messed up~

Recap:

_Lunch came fairly quickly and the group met up at a table set further away from the other students at the school. This was at Sasuke's request; he didn't want eavesdroppers to cut in on this conversation. He needed this to just be within the small group that they had formed years ago, no more no less, well including Sakura that is. Now was the time, the time he would share his story with the very ones he pushed out of his life. And it was all because of the one girl he met, the one girl that began to heal his heart. He came forward to the table where all of them sat. Sakura was at his side and gripping his hand tightly with her own. She was there, he knew, there was nothing left to do._

_'Well, there's no turning back now.'_

Sasuke stared into the faces of the very people he knew that he hurt. What could he possibly say that would make it okay for them? He ditched them and they didn't even know the real reason for it. Naruto had tried and failed to get the information from him, but all he got was the cold shoulder and only part of the truth. His heart skipped a beat as his breathing hitched slightly. He tried calming himself before he opened his mouth to speak. That's when he began to struggle with getting the words out. Sakura noticed this and looked at him, she knew this was painful for him.

"Sasuke its okay, you can do this."

"Dude is it really that bad that you can't say it?" Naruto asked standing from his position at the table.

"Maybe it would be easier to show you instead," Sakura offered.

Sasuke nodded his head as he removed the first layer of his shirts. He hesitated before taking off the long sleeved shirt afterwards. As the shirt came off everyone at the table began to stand up. Naruto froze in his spot with wide eyes. Ino and Hinata gasped and covered their mouths. Shikamaru' and Neji's eyes also went wide as Tenten stared in shock with the rest. They were speechless to say the least, they had not expected to see this, not ever.

"Naruto always pestered me for a reason why I stopped hanging out with you. Well this is the reason okay, my father abuses me and he threatened to hurt you guys if I told anyone or if didn't stop talking to you."

That was the most they had ever heard Sasuke say in a long while. He slipped the shirts back on as they regained their composure. They had to let this all sink in, and Naruto was the first one to speak up.

"Your dad did that to you? That mother fucker, Sasuke you should have told us before."

Naruto was furious at this point, but that feeling was also mixed with shock, though fury was the more dominant emotion at this point for him.

"I told you I couldn't Naruto."

"You think we would care, dude it wouldn't matter if he said it or not, you still should have told us," The blonde boy continued in a serious tone.

"He's right Sasuke, we wouldn't have cared, Shikamaru wouldn't have and neither of the girls would have either."

Sasuke looked at Neji as he said this, then to Hinata, Ino and Tenten, they each nodded their heads in agreement. Maybe they wouldn't have but he didn't risk their safety just to save himself, which was just selfish thinking and he wasn't like that, and he never would be like that to anyone for that matter. Turning his gaze to the ground he said in a whisper but they still heard him.

"You wouldn't have understood the position I was in, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if either of you got hurt. Sakura was damn close on Saturday when my dad came home. She was lucky he didn't find her."

"We do understand."

"No you don't, I watched my mother die okay, she died in my arms and I couldn't bare the thought of seeing that happen to any of you."

They all became silent when he finished saying this. They never knew that his mother died in his arms, or that he even saw her die for that matter. They figured that his mom was in the hospital and she passed away there like Itachi had. Sasuke waited for them to say something, after awhile no one did and that's when Sasuke decided he didn't want to be there anymore. He grabbed his stuff and began to walk away. Sakura glanced at her friends as they all just stood there.

"Aren't you guys going to say something?"

"What could we say Sakura?" Ino asked as she looked to the ground.

"Um I don't know, how about giving him some comfort? Or telling him that you'll help him in any way you can," Sakura lectured, "You guys didn't say anything, he probably thinks you don't care."

"Why would he think that?"

"Because Naruto he's very, how would I put this, fragile I guess. He hasn't had people care for him in a long while."

"Yeah but.."

"I don't mean to interrupt, but did any of you notice that Sasuke had a bandage on his arm?"

"No Shikamaru we didn't, why do you ask?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, didn't any of them find it weird. Maybe he was the only one smart enough to figure any thing out.

"Wait you don't think..." Sakura stopped as she remembered what Sasuke said to Daisuke, and two words stuck out in her mind.

_"You think life is so fucking easy, I didn't ask for a lot of things to happen in my life but guess what they did; you're just an asshole that added to it. Do you get enjoyment from picking on people like me? You want me to __cut myself__; I'll do it right here and right now. I'll show you what you can't handle because you're afraid of messing up your supposedly perfect skin."_

"Oh dear god," She said as the others caught on to what the two implied. She took off to go find him with the others not far behind.

Sasuke had disappeared and walked to the side of the school where no one could see or be able to find him. But he wasn't aware that a small group of people was following him. He leaned against the wall as he lifted up his sleeve, the bandage was still there, and the wound still stung.

_'I think I had gone too deep this time, this ones going to take longer to heal.'_

Just as he was about to unwrap it and change the bandage he heard a familiar voice come from his right. A voice he thought he would never hear and never wanted to hear again. Sasuke turned his head and there he was, the ex-captain of the football team, Daisuke. He was just smirking at Sasuke as his buddies did the same. Sasuke knew he had intentions that couldn't be good for him.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were in juvy."

"I was, but I'm on parole I guess you could say since I'm a minor. I lost everything because of you, you little dumb-shit. Now you're going to pay for it."

Before Sasuke had the chance to try and defend himself, Daisuke's two friends grabbed him and forced him to his knees. Daisuke came and stood in front of the teen and chuckled slightly. He was trapped and he knew he might not be able to get away. Glancing at Daisuke, the said boy cracked his knuckles and grinned like anyone would do when they were about to get what they wanted. And the grinning boy believed he was going t get that plus more.

"I'm going to enjoy this, I'll make this a living hell for you and it'll be much worse than the last time."

Sakura searched frantically for Sasuke, but he was nowhere to be found. None of the others found him either and they were starting to get worried. Nothing was worse than thinking that he was cutting himself to get rid of the emotional pain he may have been feeling. He needed help more than ever right now, and they had to find him in order to do that. They weren't having any luck in finding their friend and that just discouraged them even more.

All of them met up together and each started asking if they had found him yet. But only disappointment crossed his or her faces when no one had. Naruto punched a nearby tree but was immediately scolded about getting himself hurt, but he shook it off, saying that it doesn't matter or he doesn't care. He was angry and he had every right to feel that way. His best friend was off somewhere and no one had even the slightest clue of his whereabouts.

If that wasn't enough, each of them began to argue and blaming each other for not saying anything to Sasuke earlier before he walked off somewhere. Sakura tried to calm them down and make them stop but they only ignored her pleas. Hinata on the other hand, stood quietly off to the side and didn't say a word. She wasn't exactly one to get people under control, so she just stood there and looked around. Looked around until her gaze caught site of someone she didn't want to see at that point. Rephrase that, she never wanted to see that someone again, and she knew Sakura didn't either.

Daisuke's group had just come walking from around the side of the building and she found it oddly strange that they were laughing and giving the other high fives. Without the others noticing she slowly but shyly walked off to see what they were up to, by which she wanted to see what they were doing on the side of the building, even the shy ones get curious every now and then. As she made her way over, Sakura suddenly turned her head and noticed that she was gone and that grabbed the attention of the other bickering teens. Now they each thought in their own minds, they had another one of their friends off somewhere else.

Hinata made it to the corner and as she stepped around to peer what was on the other side, she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes went wide as she started to breath rapidly, her heart was racing at what she saw. Then without even thinking she gave a yell, a yell that held her cousins name. Normally she wouldn't have yelled like she had just now but she was afraid.

"NEJI!"

Neji froze as he heard his name shouted through the air. Everyone looked to him as they realized whose voice that belonged to. Soon enough they spotted Hinata running towards them as fast as she could go. The look on her face held one of fear as tears ran down her face. He ran over to her and stopped her as he grabbed her shoulders and tried to calm her down. Something had to have terrified her to make her scream like that, because that wasn't a normal scream for her.

"Hinata what happened? What's wrong?"

She struggled to say the words but found she couldn't say it. Neji watched her as she pointed where she had come from. He and the guys ran in the direction she gestured to as the girls ran to Hinata's side and helped her to follow them. As they approached the guys, they saw them gathered around something or rather someone. Naruto was kneeling next to the figure's side. Sakura maneuvered around them as she came to a stop, she held the same expression on her face that Hinata had on hers.

Sasuke was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, he was slouching a bit but he was unconscious. Red liquid trickled down the side of his lip as well as from his nose. More bruises covered his face, as if there was any place else for them to appear. His head was facing down so the blood dripped off of his face and onto his clothes that were torn in some places. Naruto set his hand on his shoulder and gently shook him, nothing happened but after awhile he groaned in pain.

"Sasuke, can you hear me?" Naruto shook him again but still hadn't got a word out of the raven-haired teen.

Sakura had dropped to her knees on his other side as she cupped his cheek with her hand and shifted his face so she could have a full view of the damage. Tears leaked from her eyes as they slid down her face. Who would do this to him? That was her only question, but she didn't think it would get answered.

"We need to get him to the nurse."

Sakura moved out of the way for Neji to take her place as he and Naruto each grabbed one of Sasuke's arms and placed it around their shoulder. Sakura grabbed his bag as the boys carried Sasuke to the nurse's office and the others followed quickly behind them.

The nurse hadn't been expecting anyone to come in as badly beaten us as Sasuke. When they arrived at the office the nurse immediately jumped from her seat upon seeing Sasuke's condition and told them to lay him down on the bed. She quickly went to work and removed his shirts, and gasped when she saw all the bruises, the fresh ones were the ones that stood out most and those are the ones she attended to. When she finished tended the bruises, she noticed the bandage on his arm and the small amount of blood that stained it. Removing it, the teens that were still in the room looked in shock when they saw the large 'X' that was engraved on his arm. Sakura held back the tears that stung her eyes, she was blaming herself for that would, and maybe if she was able to get through to him sooner he wouldn't have done it to himself.

Suddenly the bell rang and each of them glanced at the other wondering what they should do, do they leave? Or do they stay here and wait for him to wake up? That soon was decided for them when the nurse spoke up.

"You guys need to get to class."

"But Shizune…."

"No buts, I'll watch over him until the end of the day, you can come back later, right now he needs some rest and he might not wake up for awhile anyway."

Before any of them had a chance to retort she ushered them out of her office and went back to tending Sasuke's injuries. Sakura had left his bag by the bed he was resting on but took his homework for creative writing, deciding she would turn it in for him. Asuma would surely be asking her questions about where he was and she would have to tell him that Sasuke was hurt. She wanted to know who could have done it to him, but no one came to mind. But what about Hinata, she was acting more nervous than usual. Did she see the person who did it? Sakura settled on asking Hinata when they went to see the principal afterwards to tell him what happened with Sasuke. There was a slight chance she might be able to help with that as well.

All throughout the last two classes, Sasuke was sleeping in the nurse's office. He wasn't aware of the shock Sakura probably went through when she saw Daisuke back in their class today. Instead he was dreaming, not dreaming to be exact, but having nightmares. Nightmares that involved the one that constantly beat him for months, nightmares of the night his whole life changed. Shizune heard him groan and start to flinch in his sleep just as Sakura walked into the room with the rest of the gang not too far behind her. They saw his state and sprinted over to him when Shizune tried waking him up but to no avail.

Sakura instead took the woman's place and attempted to wake him up as well. Sasuke's breathing quickened as he sprung up into a sitting position, his heart was racing as he gazed around the room, he noticed he was wearing a different shirt, probably one given to him by Shizune. Sakura pressed her hand to his back and rubbed it soothingly, it calmed him down for the most part but he was still a little jumpy, which didn't go unnoticed by his friends that were standing around the bed he sat on.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"I'm fine, well for the most part," Sasuke replied as he clutched his torso.

"Who did this to you?" Neji spoke up, asking the question everyone wanted to know.

"It was Daisuke," Sasuke spat angrily as he grunted from the pain he felt.

"The football player that was sent to juvenile hall?" Tenten questioned shockingly.

"Yeah."

"He is here, I saw him in my class today. He still an asshole as always," Sakura said to cover up the emotional pain she was trying to hold back from letting everyone see.

"We need to talk to the principal, and we need to talk to him now. This can't wait." Shikamaru offered and they agreed.

"He's right about that, you should talk to him, I'll call over there and let him know your coming," Shizune told them as she picked up the phone on her desk.

**A/N Another chapter finished, yay, okay please read and review and let me know what you think, thanks again for all the reviews you guys.**


	12. Those Words

Chapter 12: Those Words

~You captured my heart, with three simple words~

**A/N Okay, here's the next chapter of Let Me In, now I don't want to disappoint anyone, but it might be a while before I update again. It's coming down to the wire for my graduation and I have a lot of things to get done, hopefully during the absence more reviews will come in for this story and the more reviews I get, I might update sooner than planned. ^_^**

Recap:

_"We need to talk to the principal, and we need to talk to him now. This can't wait." Shikamaru offered and they agreed._

_"He's right about that, you should talk to him, I'll call over there and let him know your coming," Shizune told them as she picked up the phone on her desk._

The eight teenagers stood in front of their principal. They had just finished telling him what had occurred and by the look on his face he wasn't happy about it whatsoever. He sighed deeply and picked up the phone that sat on his desk, his white shirt crinkled from the movement. Quickly dialing a number he placed the phone to his ear and asked for a man by the name of Officer Masanori. The older man spoke with the officer, discussing Daisuke. Apparently Masanori was his parole officer, and from what they could hear the man on the other end was just as unhappy as their principal.

Nodding his head, the principal hung up the phone and turned to the students in his office. Their eyes asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to, what was going to happen to Daisuke?

"Well, that was Daisuke's parole officer, he's going to come take him back to juvenile hall."

"Good, he gets what he deserves," Naruto said smugly as he crossed his arms.

"Sasuke I think you should go to the hospital and have all the bruises and wounds fully checked out. Shizune has a colleague that works at the hospital over by the mall, she'll take you right in if Shizune calls for you."

"I don..."

Sasuke was cut off when Sakura and Naruto butted in. They decided for him that he was going to go to the hospital, he needed some x-rays and not just from the beating he got from Daisuke, but also the ones he received from his dad, which they left unsaid in front of the principal. They didn't need more people getting involved, and the doctor finding this out while giving the examine was just another one in on the secret Sasuke had kept for so long.

Sasuke was whisked away and Neji volunteered to go ask Shizune to call her colleague at the hospital, seeing as they would head over there when Sakura's parents showed up. He dragged Tenten along with him, and decided now would be a perfect time to ask her to the dance. That is, if would say yes to him, but just the thought of her saying no discouraged him and he wasn't so sure of even asking her.

Tenten walked by his side the whole way, they were silent but it wasn't an awkward silence. Neji hesitated before he worked up the nerve to even grab her attention by calling her name. She glanced toward him with curiosity written on her face.

"Um, I was wondering if uh..."

"What is it Neji?"

"Wouldyougotothedancewithme?"

He said it in such a rush she didn't catch a word he said except for me.

"What?"

"Would you go to the dance with me?" He repeated when he forced himself to calm down.

Tenten's heart began to race, this was exactly what she was waiting for. He asked her, she couldn't believe it. It wasn't long until she realized she may have been blushing, Neji's smirk gave that fact away. She tried regaining her composure and soon enough she nodded her head in response to his question. He calmed down immediately and smirked at her, she didn't think anything of it, that was until he had to go and ruin the moment they shared.

"Its fate."

"Oh would you knock that shit off!"

Sakura helped Sasuke through the front door of the school with Shikamaru and Naruto's assistance was well, despite Sasuke's protests. He felt like he was being treated like a mental patient, and it made him uncomfortable to say the least. He was seventeen for crying out loud, he could take care of himself, he has technically the past few months anyway. His father sure as hell didn't take that responsibility, Sasuke would be dying right now if he left his life in that man's hands.

"I can walk on my own you guys seriously, I can do it myself."

He yanked himself free from Sakura's grasp and put some distance between him and the others.

"Why is he being like that?"

"One thing you should know about Sasuke, he's very independent, he really hates getting help from others."

Sakura tried to understand that but he was stubborn, he was hurt and he needed help. She watched as Sasuke stopped at the sidewalk outside the school gates. He waited for them there since this is where Sakura's parents would be picking them up. That was when she noticed Sasuke had looked up and his eyes widened. Suddenly without warning he took off running as fast as he could. She was about to call out to him but she saw a car pull from a parking spot on the curb that started to chase him.

"NARUTO!"

The blonde heard his name and he turned to look as he saw his best friend run down the sidewalk with the car not too far behind. Shikamaru ran to his car with Ino and Hinata close behind, Naruto had taken off, trying to catch up to Sasuke. A car pulled up just as Tenten and Neji came out of the doors of the school and saw everyone had disappeared except Sakura so they ran over.

"Sakura, what's going on?" Man asked hurriedly.

"We have to go, hurry. Neji, Tenten come on."

They wasted no time and sprinted over to her parents car. The three teens hopped into the back as Keiji shifted into drive and drove off. Quickly trying to find where the others vanished, they couldn't have gone far, there really was no one they would be speeding around this part of town. If they were, they just hoped that the teens didn't get themselves pulled over by the police and recieve a ticket. A ticket Sasuke would surely blame on himself since they were trying to help him.

Sasuke's breath became ragged and quick as he kept sprinting, his sides were hurting from the running and the injuries only made it worse. But that man, the very one he had run from to stay with Sakura, was after him. Fugaku was pursuing him in a car while he ran on foot. If he didn't think fast, he would surely be in trouble, good thing he was on the track team his freshman and sophomore year. The practice sure came in handy right now.

Naruto went after Sasuke, he saw the car and soon his eyes widened when he caught sight of who was in the driver's seat. He tried to catch up to them but they were already to far ahead. A car pulled up next to him and Shikamaru yelled for him to get in. Wasting no time he got into the car and they headed off.

Sasuke skidded on his feet as he turned to go down an alley. He looked around the edge but he didn't see his dad or the car for that matter. Starting to take a step backwards, he bumped into something. His heart stopped then, having no time to turn around an arm came around his neck as the other covered his mouth. Sasuke attempted to claw his way from the tight grasp the man had on him. Fugaku merely chuckled at his attempts and leaned into his son's ear to whisper.

"You have until tonight to get your belongings together from Sakura's house. At midnight I'll be waiting on the curb in the car, you better be ready to leave. If you don't do what I say Sakura will have a little accident, the same goes for Naruto and the rest of those brats."

Sasuke froze; he wasn't attempting to get free any longer. With wide eyes, he fell to the ground when Fugaku freed him from his grasp. The older man walked away and left Sasuke on the ground badly shaken up. The raven-haired teen glanced around as he stood with shaky knees and leaned on the wall of the dark alley for support. The man was now gone from his sight, but his words still lingered in Sasuke's mind. The very words he never wanted to hear again, he truly believed he would be able to start living peacefully again. Maybe even tell Sakura how he really felt about her, but those plans were shattered. Now he had a difficult choice to make, but he already knew what he had to do.

_'What the hell do I do?'_

Two cars stopped by Sasuke's side as he came out of the alleyway. Sakura had jumped out of the car and immediately went to him and began checking for any new wounds he may have received. She was overcome with relief when she found none. His breath was still quick paced, he was still trying to calm himself down after running for such a long distance. Sakura smiled at him, but she didn't know about the inner turmoil that was slowly tearing him apart. There were only a few words that Sakura thought and those were the ones that made her smile at him.

_'Thank god, his dad didn't get to him.'_

She didn't know what really happened and as Sasuke watched her wrap her arms around him, he knew he had to leave she was in danger. All of them were in danger for that matter, he couldn't stay with her anymore, his father was coming for him tonight and he didn't have a choice or say in the matter. Sakura pulled away and stared into his eyes, her own reflected the worry she held for him, she knew something was wrong. But the chances of getting him to talk were slim to none, especially after this whole ordeal that he experienced.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"He's most likely a little shaken up."

Sakura nodded at her dad's words and she grabbed Sasuke's hand then led him to the car her parents were driving. The Haruno's dropped off the teens at the school so they could get their car as well and head home. Mana was worried about Sasuke's health so she told them they were going to take Sasuke home, she even promised to take him to the hospital tomorrow, right now, she wanted him to get some rest. Sakura agreed with her mother and waved goobye to her friends as they returned the gesture. Ino promised to call her later to ask how they were doing and then she would pass the news along to their group.

Arriving back to the Haruno residence, Sasuke realized his time was ticking down. Ticking down to the point where he knew everything that he worked to get back was about to disappear. Fugaku had something planned but he didn't know exactly what that was but Sasuke knew it was good, and that it was something he wouldn't like. Fugaku had that effect, he knew what Sasuke didn't like and he was going to use that to his advantage against him. Just that thought caused Sasuke to grit his teeth in anger, he was getting tired of taking this shit from his dad and his face showed it. Sakura wasn't oblivious to his mood, she saw the expressions on his face change thorughout the ride back to the house.

Mana and Keiji told the two to go up to Sakura's room, they were going to go down to the police station and file a report on child abuse. Fugaku was going to be caught and they wanted him put behind bars before they even let Sasuke go anywhere by himself. Even if he was with Sakura, she wasn't strong enough to handle herself against Sasuke's dad, and the very thought of their daughter getting touched or hurt by that man only increased their determination to get the situation taken care of quickly.

They left the house leaving the tw alone, Sakura took Sasuke into the bathroom to check his the injuries he recieved earlier that day. He needed medical attention but this was going to have to do for now, so she placed some simple bandages on his wounds. His torso stung deeply, the sprinting he had done added to that pain and he wished it would go away. While attempting to put his shirt back on, he flinched and hissed from the stinging of pain he felt. Sakura assisted him and soon laced her hand with his and led him to her room, she had this look on her face and he knew something was wrong with her. Despite what she thought, he could read her like a book.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She was lying, and he knew it, the tone in her voice was a give away by itself, but she wasn't a very good liar, unlike him, she had signs that proved his claim. The way she stood and crossed her arms was one, and the way she turned her back to him when she denied what his question had implied. Sasuke wasn't fooled so he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. Keeping a firm grip on her shoulder, he prevented her from turning away again, which she tried to anyway.

"Sakura, you are always telling me to tell you things, and I have, why won't you do the same for me?"

She shifted her eyes away from his stare, she didn't want to end up crying and if she looked into his dark irises she knew the tears would begin and she wouldn't be able to hold them back. Sighing angrily, Sasuke lifted her chin, with his right hand, to make her look at him. His eyes pleaded for her to say something, but she made no move to start explaing herself for the way she was acting.

"Sakura."

She didn't answer him, she deliberately ignore his pleas and attempts to get her to talk. She was being completly stubborn, just like he was when he first met her. Was this some kind of payback? She seemed fine when she was in the car and when she came running to his side when she was worried about him. Now she just cut him off completely, not saying a word to him.

"TALK TO ME DAMN IT!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY SASUKE?! YOU HAVE BEEN KEEPING SOMETHING FROM ME! YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT YOU CUT YOURSELF! WHY SHOULD I SAY ANYTHING TO YOU NOW?!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at what she just said, how did she even find out? Thinking back he recalled that he had been unconscious after he was attacked by Daisuke and his friends. Did she and the others find out then? Did the nurse remove his bandage? He looked to her and noticed that tears were falling from her emerald eyes. The very eyes she captured him with, she knew almost everything about him and he trusted her.

"Sakura, I.."

"SASUKE YOU LIED TO ME! YOU KEPT IT FROM ME!"

"HOW WAS I LYING TO YOU?! YOU WEREN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT IT AND IT'S NOT LYING IF YOU NEVER EVEN ASKED! WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THIS?!"

She didn't respond back as she continued to cry, Sasuke regretted yelling at her now. What was he supposed to do? She wouldn't give him the answers that he wanted. She avoided his questions by yelling at him and he never thought they'd end up in a fight like this one. Gazing at her down turned head, he was at loss on what to do, never had he told anyone about the knife he kept under his bed and what exactly he did with it. Sakura was only making this harder on him, he was about to turn and leave when she finally whsipered something.

"I'm scared."

He hadn't been expecting this from her, her shoulders were shaking and he knew she was trying to hold back a sob. That hadn't exactly worked, more tears fell as she cried, her sobbing became louder each time she tried to hold it back. Sasuke didn't hesitate as he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest. He shushed her and rubbed her back soothingly, how was he supposed to leave her tonight? This day just kept getting worse for him and it didn't plan to change or turn around for him even if he prayed.

"Sasuke, I'm afraid something will happen to you, I'm scared, I'm so in love with you, if something ever happened to you, I'd probably die," She sobbed.

Sasuke had tears brimming his eyes, he was going to break her heart when he left, he was going to get hurt he was sure and she was going to be, well, he didn't even want to imagine that. All he knew was that, it was either he left and she breaks down emotionally, or his father would come and take her life. He chose the emotional way, but he was going to be sure to show her how he felt. He was going to show her just what she meant to him. There was nothing that could break their bond, it would always be there, even if he was gone, he would surely feel it. Hopefully one day, if he ever came back, that she would be waiting for him.

The pink-haired girl didn't know what to expect to happen next, but she definitely wasn't expecting what Sasuke did next. Her eyes widened when he pulled away and quickly crashed his lips to hers, her tears were just a stain on her face now as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss to him. She then knew at that point that he returned her feelings and her heart swelled at the thought. Their kiss came to a soft and gentle end and Sasuke embraced her close to him as he took in the scent of her hair. What he said next brought a smile to her lips, the three words she waited to her back from him.

"I love you."

**A/N Okay that's finished, please read and review and let me know what you think. :]**


	13. Sorry

Chapter 13: Sorry

~Dear God the only thing I ask of you is  
to hold her when I'm not around,  
when I'm much too far away  
We all need that person who can be true to you  
But I left her when I found her  
And now I wish I'd stayed  
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired  
I'm missing you again oh no  
Once again~

**A/N Yay, I'm back, sorry for not updating in awhile, but like I said before I had stuff for school, but not anymore, I'm an official graduate of high school XD I'm so glad to be out of there, so now that school is over I might be updating regularly again which is once or twice a week, but we'll see. I'll stop my rant here, I know I've kept a lot of you waiting long enough, I tried to make this chapter a little longer to make up for the long wait but I don't think it came out as long as I wanted it to, so anyway here's the next chapter of Let Me In.**

Recap:

_The pink-haired girl didn't know what to expect to happen next, but she definitely wasn't expecting what Sasuke did next. Her eyes widened when he pulled away and quickly crashed his lips to hers, her tears were just a stain on her face now as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss to him. She then knew at that point that he returned her feelings and her heart swelled at the thought. Their kiss came to a soft and gentle end and Sasuke embraced her close to him as he took in the scent of her hair. What he said next brought a smile to her lips, the three words she waited to her back from him._

_"I love you."_

Sasuke held Sakura in his arms all throughout the night until midnight. Her parents had returned home to find the two asleep and decided against waking them up. Mana even snapped a picture of them, she thought they looked cute, and she could use that picture to tease them. She was a typical mom that loved to embarrass her child. Keiji smiled and laughed at her for doing it. Mothers would be mothers.

When Sasuke was sure the three Harunos were asleep, he carefully and gently slipped out of the bed. Sakura shifted and groaned, he thought he was caught, but she stayed asleep. Stuffing all of his belongings inside his bag, including ones that Sakura's parents picked up while he was at school, he zipped it up and set it by the window. He had everything packed up, everything except his one true belonging, his journal. The one belonging that showed who he truly was on the inside.

Opening to a fresh page, he grabbed a pen that he found on Sakura's nightstand and began writing. He was writing to Sakura, telling her not to worry and to be happy for the two of them. When he was completely finished, he set the journal under Sakura's arm and leaned down to kiss her forehead. She murmured his name as he smiled one last time.

Rain had begun to fall when Sasuke climbed out of the window. Just as his dad said he was waiting in a black car on the curb outside the house. Sasuke's breath hitched, the thought of going with this man frightened him, yet made him angry. He walked to the back of the car, which Fugaku had opened the truck on, and Sasuke threw his stuff inside it, he slammed it shut just as someone he didn't want to leave began to stir in their sleep.

Sakura felt the warmth beside her vanish and she sat up quickly. She felt her hand around but Sasuke's body was gone. Jumping out of bed she looked around for him but couldn't find him. That is until she gazed out of the window and saw headlights from a car. Peering out the window she spotted Sasuke opening the door, so she thrust open the window and shouted his name. The teen froze and turned his head; a sad look was on his face as he mouthed I'm sorry to her. She turned on her heels and ran as fast as she could down the stairs to the front door. Opening it she ran out just as the rain began to pour harder, lightening flashed as she yelled his name into the night.

"SASUKE!"

It was too late, the car he had gotten into had taken off leaving nothing behind. Sakura was panting, but soon fell to her knees and cried, she didn't care that she was getting soaked, that was until her parents appeared by the doorway. They saw their daughter outside in the cold rain and urged her back inside. Taking her to the kitchen they plopped her down on the chair at the table and took a seat as well. The look on her face frightened them, they have never seen her look so lost before.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Sasuke, he's..he's gone mom, I don't know where but he left in a car with somebody but I don't know who."

Sakura sobbed as she cried into her hands, her parents were at loss on what to do. They were shocked that Sasuke was gone and their wide-eyes showed it. As hard as they tried to get her to talk, she refused and just left to go back to her room. When she got back she threw herself on her bed, but she ended up landing on something. She grabbed it and went to turn her bedroom light on. What she found in her hand was something she didn't expect to see. Sasuke's journal. Curious, she just flipped through the pages, not really reading anything; that was until she got to the last page and saw her name written at the top of the page. It looked like a letter of some sort and it was obviously from Sasuke, his neat handwriting was strewn across the pages. Sitting on her bed, she began to read what he had written to her.

_'Sakura,_

_I know what I say won't matter much, the pain you feel is probably the same that I am feeling right now. I wish we could have been together but it was never meant to be. I can't say where I am going because I truly don't know myself. Please don't worry about me, don't waste the rest of your life wondering where I went. I just need you to understand that I love you and I always will, no matter where I go those feeling will never cease. But staying with you wasn't safe and it never would have been. I hope you can be happy with someone else, maybe they can give you what I can't, companionship. This journal is yours now, everything that I am is within these pages. Hopefully you can receive comfort from it just as it had done for me. You have my heart, and it will always be yours. I love you babe._

_-Sasuke'_

Sakura finished reading and set the journal aside, she was crying uncontrollably now and she didn't think it would stop. The one person she loved was gone and he wasn't coming back. Her parents came to her room as saw the journal on the bed. The two adults walked up to her and embraced her, she returned it immediately, she needed the comfort right now and there was no one else there to receive it from.

Sakura cried until she fell asleep from exhaustion and the tears. Crying really took a lot out of her, as her dad tucked her in, Mana grabbed the journal and read over the page. Tears sprung to her eyes as she read it, no wonder her daughter was slowly breaking down. Keiji saw his wife's eyes and stepped over to her side and read the small paragraph as well. Sasuke had a knack for making people shed tears for him, and Keiji was no different as he too showed signs of crying, but he held them back.

"We have to find him," Mana whispered silently to her husband.

"I'll go to the police station first thing in the morning."

Mana nodded as they left Sakura's room and headed off to bed themselves. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and the two were deciding if they should let Sakura stay home. Chances were that she wouldn't want to go to school, her heart was in pain and she might not even be able to stop crying. They knew how their daughter was; she cared too much about a lot of people and when something happened to them it tore her apart. As her parents left the room, they hadn't known Sakura was awake, she hadn't really fallen asleep, she only faked it so her parents would leave, she just wanted to be alone.

The car ride felt like a prison, Sasuke was trapped with the one person he thought he finally escaped from. But here he was sitting in the same vehicle with his father. It had been a few hours before Fugaku finally said something, and that was only to explain to Sasuke where they were going. They were not going back to their house, in fact they weren't anywhere near the city anymore. If anyone went to the house they previously lived in, they would see nothing but bare walls and empty rooms.

"We are moving away from Konoha, and moving back to our old house in Suna."

Sasuke didn't anything else after that sentence Fugaku spoke to him. They were moving away and to Suna no less, that place was filled with gangs, he grew up there the first ten years of his life. He had seen things no child should have seen, but that was a different time when his family was there to protect him. They had moved away from Suna because of the high gang activity, his parents didn't want that life for him or Itachi, which was when his dad was a different man. That was also a time when Sasuke learned the basics of self-defense, he knew how to fight when need be. He really hadn't practiced much with it since his mother and Itachi's deaths.

The car was filled with silence again, Sasuke was gazing out the window hiding his face from Fugaku, if anyone looked closely enough they would have seen tears streaming silently down the young teen's face. His hell was only about to get worse, and the only person that ran through his mind was Sakura. He missed her, that was no lie, she was his light, the one that pulled him from the dark when he thought he couldn't go on. She was the one that restored the friendship between his friends and him, the friendship he never thought he would have again, but he did get it back, if only for a small amount of time.

That morning Sakura was sitting in her bed; she had fallen asleep a little while later after her parents went to bed. Now she was just staying in her bed with Sasuke's journal in her hand. In a small way it gave her comfort, like he was still with her as cheesy as it sounds it helped. Mana and Keiji didn't make her go to school they knew she wouldn't have been able to focus. Keiji had gone to the police station to file child abuse and possible kidnapping. The police officers were attentive when hearing his claim and soon went to the school to see if Sasuke had been transferred.

It was morning when Fugaku and Sasuke arrived at their old house. Fugaku was lucky to have gotten it, although a lot of people couldn't have afforded it in the long run. It was a large two-story house with four bedrooms, each room had a bathroom of it's own. Sasuke crawled out of the car and forced himself to grab his stuff from the trunk. He soon found out that Fugaku had some movers take all of their belongings and bring them to this house. His dad had everything planned out for this move, and that just added to Sasuke's despair, he was never going to get out of here now.

The two Uchiha's worked all day getting everything settled in and Fugaku went to the store and then to stop by the school to enroll Sasuke into his new classes. At least he allowed Sasuke to pick which ones he wanted, but that was all Sasuke would be allowed to decide. His father would surely pay closer attention to him here, just to make sure he didn't find people to confide in, or call the friends he did have back in Konoha.

He spent the remainder of the day filling in a new journal he had stored away when he bought his other one, the one he had given Sakura. Now he had a fresh journal to fill up with all the happenings he knew would occur soon enough, a new journal to pour his feelings into. And the first page, just like the last, he began sketching his mother and his brother, but this time he added someone to this picture, someone whom he missed, whom he loved, the pink-haired girl he had come to know, Sakura.

This picture he spared no mistakes, he made the three people he cared for the most seem real, almost lifelike. The journal he was drawing in would have to settle for his lifeline, this new life of his would be filled with loneliness, and pain, he wouldn't let anyone in. No one could ever get close, he was in a different place, and so he didn't have to explain anything to anyone. Maybe he would get lucky and no one would bother with him.

Fugaku returned to the house and told Sasuke to take and put their groceries away. Sasuke was going to attempt to ask his dad a question, he didn't know what the man's reaction would be, but it was a long shot and he decided there wasn't much more he could do to him. The worst that would happen would be another beating, but he was already used to it, so it didn't really matter to him anymore.

"Uh, dad, would you allow me to go out and find a job?"

The man in question only looked at his son, he had been looking at him suspiciously, like Sasuke had some sort of plan. He was either tired or he didn't care, Fugaku gave him permission anyway and Sasuke eagerly left the house. He really was going to look for a job, but he also just wanted to get away from his dad, who wouldn't though? The man was just a person no one wanted to be near.

Sasuke made his way down the streets; a stoic expression was placed on his face. He wasn't allowing himself to show any kind of emotion, no matter what happened in the time he was here. Whether something happened that was funny, upsetting, or even happy, he wasn't going to let those feelings consume him. He was done with the feelings; he was done with anything relating to it.

All of the buildings were old and run down, graffiti was strewn across the walls, while the glass windows were broken out with boards to the empty space. He never thought he would return to this place, it had been seven years since he left and he knew this place had only gotten worse in that time. They condition of the town was all the proof he needed for that. Now all he wanted to know, was where was he going to get a job? It had been easy in Konoha, he knew Sasori when he got that job at Hot Topic. He kept walking, but suddenly stopped when he came to a tattoo shop. It was old but still intact.

'_I wonder.'_

Taking the chance, he walked into the shop, he may not be old enough to actually do the tattoos, but maybe they would hire him to just clean up. If he got money it was worth it, if he got a job it was worth it, getting a job in this town was hard. At this point he really wasn't going to be picky about where he worked unless it was something completely unacceptable. Especially if it was something he knew his mom would disapprove of if she was here. He liked to go by what she would think if she were still alive, not by his father's approvals or disapprovals.

He came out about ten minutes later, surprisingly they hired him, he started his new job tomorrow after school. The only thing he would be doing would be clean up and bringing them things that the tattoo artist would need. Sasuke didn't mind, it was a start, maybe somewhere along the road he would get a different job and get out of there, but it didn't seem it would be that bad. The man that he had spoken to for the job was actually nice, of course he was an older man and most of the older people were the nicer ones to be around. Maybe he would be okay there, at least for the time being.

As Sasuke walked home his mind kept wandering to Sakura, he wanted to know if she was alright, what was her reaction when she found the entry he wrote to her in his journal? Had the others found out about his disappearance yet? Were the police notified? All of these questions clouded his mind, like fog on a cold winter day. There was nothing worse than having several thoughts race through your mind. They prevented anyone from having a peaceful slumber at night, or a relaxing time listening to music. Thoughts were like a sickness that didn't leave until the cure was found for them. In his case, he knew there wouldn't be a remedy for him.

_'Not much else to do here. There's really no point trying to find a place to hang around at, there will always be someone who will want to pick a fight.'_

He arrived back to his new home and discovered that his dad was gone, it was already six in the evening, Sasuke had known his dad must have gone to a bar. That's what he did every night that he didn't have work. The bar was almost like a second home to the older man and Sasuke hated that about him, not that there was anything he liked about Fugaku in the first place. There was a point where that was different, but that was way before his life fell apart. Now he only had a home with an abusive father to go to with no friends to help him through it.

Sasuke walked up to his room and decided to listen to his music, he would attend school tomorrow, and he would surely be picked on there as well. This school would be no differnt than the last one he attended, except for the fact that he wouldn't have any friends. But school was the least of his worries, his thoughts were wrapped around what he knew would happen once his dad returned home. Another beating would occure like all the other times his father came home from the bar, now that they were in a new place, the beatings would most likely be worse. Familes always yelled at each other in this town, so Fugaku yelling while hitting him won't matter to anyone here.

The teen laid on his bed and curled up into a ball, images of his friends flashed in his mind, but lingered on one person in particular. The one he loved and left heartbroken in Konoha, the first girlfriend he had. He tried to hold back the tears, but they surfaced as they had every other time, not ready for what was about to occur later that night once that man he despised most arrived. With a weak voice, he uttered a name, a name that belonged to the one person he missed most.

"Sakura."

**A/N Ok, that's that, please read and review, the more reviews I get the quicker I'll update. :]**


	14. Unwanted Surroundings

Chapter 14: Unwanted Surroundings

~Fuck the way I feel right now  
I'll never feel this anymore  
Shut the feelings all right down  
I'll never need them anymore~

**A/N Here's the next chapter for you guys, thank you for the reviews. Sorry for not updating sooner, I have been a nervous wreck lately, but here's the next chapter for you guys, hope you like it.  
**

Recap:

_The teen laid on his bed and curled up into a ball, images of his friends flashed in his mind, but lingered on one person in particular. The one he loved and left heartbroken in Konoha, the first girlfriend he had. He tried to hold back the tears, but they surfaced as they had every other time, not ready for what was about to occur later that night once that man he despised most arrived. With a weak voice, he uttered a name, a name that belonged to the one person he missed most._

_"Sakura."_

It wasn't until about nine when Fugaku returned to the house, his clothes were in their disheveled mess like every other time he came home drunk. Sasuke was still lying on his bed as he heard the car door slam outside. The music player long since forgotten, rested on the nightstand. His heart race quickened, as the sound of the front door flying open and then slamming shut, filled his ears. That point in time was coming closer, and it was coming more quickly than he wished.

Sasuke's heart seemed to beat out of his chest as he heard loud footsteps come up the stairs. The footsteps were stomped as if in an angry manor, and Fugaku probably was angry, getting drunk always caused him to be like that. And when he was an angry drunk, that meant a more brutal beating on Sasuke's part. The first night at his new house was surely going to be hell. Fugaku had no sympathy for him whatsoever, he just took out all his frustrations on Sasuke and didn't care what happened to him. Sasuke truly believed he would be killed by his father's hand soon enough.

In all honesty, he didn't really care if he was killed right here and now. Anything was better than having to suffer through this torment every single night. It just wasn't worth it, besides his friends would be safer too, once he was gone, they couldn't be used as a threat and they wouldn't have to worry anymore. His eyes soon shot wide when his door was busted open and the one man he didn't want to see, stepped through the doorway. Sitting up quickly he jumped to his feet as he prepared himself. The last thing he felt was searing pain through his already bruised body as he tried to tell his father he was sorry for what he was to blame for.

Sakura sat in the living room of her home with her friends and parents surrounding her. A police officer stood before them in his dark blue uniform, his badge pinned proudly above his heart. They were contemplating what they should do, it was already getting late and the police have been trying to get the school to give them Sasuke's records. They first needed a certain permit that would allow them to receive those records so that might take a few days.

"I'm sorry we can't do anything sooner, if your claim is accurate on child abuse, we have to find him quickly."

"Thank you sir."

Keiji shook the officer's hand as the authority figure left the house. Mana looked to her husband as he turned to face them. He sighed deeply after he gazed at his daughter, she was afraid for Sasuke, who knows what his dad would do to him. There were just so many other possibilities, more beatings, more yelling, but their only questions was how much worse was Sasuke going to get it.

"Sakura, have you tried calling Sasuke's cell phone?"

"Yeah, but it said it was disconnected."

"Damn it."

"Maybe if we wait he'll come into contact with us. It's a long shot, but it's all we can hope for right now."

Sakura nodded and stood from her spot on the couch and began to walk up to her room. Ino, Tenten and Hinata quickly followed her, as the others watched them disappear up the stairs. Naruto sighed sadly, he was in as much pain as Sakura but he tried to be strong for her sake, if he fell apart then that might give her the wrong idea that Sasuke wasn't going to come back.

The pink-haired teenaged girl sat on her bed as the other three stood in front of her. Ino wanted to try and make her feel better but she didn't know what to say, so she opted to go with her usual teasing about the whole crush on Sasuke bit. But she didn't know she was taking a step a little too far. And Sakura would show her just what she was feeling soon enough, and it probably wasn't going to be good.

"Sakura, don't worry, we'll find your boyfriend and I can go back to teasing you about your whole relationship because I know you guys have kissed," Ino teased as Tenten and Hinata stifled a laugh.

"Why don't you just fucking shut up Ino, I'm getting sick and tired of you always teasing me about Sasuke, why don't you go embarrass yourself with comments about Shikamaru."

Ino looked at her with wide eyes, she muttered a fine and stormed out of the room. Tenten chased after her as Hinata looked surprised at Sakura, but Sakura just turned her head away from her gaze. She seemed not to regret what she said, she didn't care what she said to Ino, but in her mind it was a different story.

Tenten tried to stop Ino but she had already ran out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. The occupants in the living room turned to look but Shikamaru was the one that walked over to Tenten. His eyes questioned what was going on and she just sighed before explaining the situation to him. Nodding in understanding he too walked out the front door and found Ino sitting by the street on the sidewalk. He strolled over to her and took a seat next to her.

"Ino."

"Just leave me alone Shikamaru."

"I heard what happened."

"So."

"So…."

"What do you want me to say Shikamaru? That I'm a loud-mouthed bitch who doesn't take into consideration what others are feeling?"

"What did you think was going to happen? Sakura is hurt right now, you have to be careful with your words, anything could set her off and you just happened to be the one that did it. She didn't mean it Ino, and you know she didn't."

Ino glanced at the boy next to her; she has never heard him say so much, she just thought, in all honesty, that he was too lazy to actually make someone feel better. He was always sleeping, watching clouds and sleeping were his hobbies. She was thankful to him for what he said to her, she knew Sakura didn't mean what she said and if she had been more attentive to Sakura's feelings, she wouldn't have reacted the way she did.

"Thanks Shikamaru," Ino told him as she turned her head to look into his eyes.

Shikamaru gazed back at her and before he knew it, he leaned his face closer to hers as she did the same. A blush was evident on her face, but soon was wiped away when his lips met hers in a gentle but fiery kiss. Ino never thought this moment would happen, but it had.

Sasuke laid sprawled on the floor of his room, eyes half lidded, as blood stained his chin and just under his nose. Taking a breath was difficult, swallowing was difficult, nothing was easy, his whole body was just sore. He felt like he was hit by, not necessarily by a truck, but something pretty close to it. Moving didn't seem possible at the moment, but he forced himself anyway. The bones that held him together felt brittle, he believed the wrong move would crush them completely.

The beating was much worse than anything he had felt before. Even the abuse he suffered back in Konoha was nothing compared to what he felt at this very moment. He stumbled his way into the bathroom like he had every other time before that and looked at the damage to his face. He spit out some blood that lingered in his mouth and grabbed a towel to clean up the wounds and then to take a shower. It was a never-ending cycle, even in this place, he moved but the cycle was never broken, he was cursed with the entrapment within it as long as his father had the upper hand.

Tomorrow would surely be a nightmare; the school he knew would just be filled with fights and drug abusers. He didn't even know what kind of teachers would be at this school, would they be crude and mean? What about the students? Was there even such a thing as normal to them? Those thoughts plagued his mind as the water from the shower rained onto his skin. But no answers came to him, none to answer his questions.

He stayed up again that night, just staring out the window into the cold desolate streets, hoping something would come his way and help him figure out what to do. He knew one thing for sure, he was giving up on his emotions. He didn't want them, he was going to lock them away, no more tears, no more sadness, no more anger, just no more anything. Only would he write in the journal, and now was a good time to start. There were no tears in his eyes, only the feeling left from the stinging he felt behind his eyes. He grabbed the journal and wrote down everything he felt at that very moment, this was nothing compared to anything he has ever written before, and he knew one thing for sure, he couldn't ever let this journal out of his grasp.

The next morning came quickly and Sasuke found himself walking to school, his dad had left earlier before he even came out of his room, and to him that was a good thing. Sasuke wore a black long-sleeved shirt, with a white short sleeved over it, once again to hide the bruises, he had his black jeans on, with his chain hanging down his left side. A pair of fingerless gloves covered his hands, and a skeleton key hung from a sliver chain around his neck. His lip pierced through with his favorite black lip rings. It wasn't long until the school came into his sight, just from where he was walking he could see how trashed it was, there was even graffiti, which told that the city didn't care what happened to its buildings.

As he walked through the gates, he received stares from all of the student that stood out in front of the school. These kids looked dangerous, they even wore sleeveless shirts that revelealed all of the tattoos that littered their arms. He continued on his way through the school doors, unaware that someone was watching his every move. Sasuke came to the office and asked the woman behind the desk about a schedule, she merely snapped her gum and tossed him a folded up piece of paper and then resumed flipping through her magazine. His schedule was as follows:

1). Calculus

2). English

3). History

4). Physics

Lunch Period

5). Music

6). Creative Writing

Sasuke sighed as he glanced over his schedule, his was in this for the long run, and as long as he was here, he would have to suffer through everything this life threw at him. The bell finally rang and Sasuke managed to find his first class, he walked inside and found that there weren't very many kids in the class, there were about ten, if that. The teacher hadn't arrived yet so Sasuke just took a seat at the back of the room. Once the teacher arrived, a worksheet was passed out.

"Complete the worksheet, then do whatever."

Sasuke breezed through it with ease, it was basic math to him, not difficult in the least. What he hadn't noticed was that most of the kids stared at him when he set the worksheet aside. Apparantely no one did the work in this class, and they began muttering "teacher's pet" and "nerd" though he ignored it there was one student that took notice that he did his work. And he was the only other kid that did the work as well.

The teen who had taken notice of Sasuke's efforts had a tattoo of his own, it wasn't on his arm or neck, but instead was on the left side of his forehead. His dark red hair was cut short and partly covered his ears. He watched Sasuke set his work aside as he propped his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his hand. A common position for him, it was his way of thinking and trying to clear his thoughts. He blocked everyone around him out and didn't hear anything except what was within his own mind.

The bell rang and Sasuke left to go to his next class. It wasn't long until long lunch period came around and he found himself sitting alone under a tree out on the field. Lucky for him, no one decided to mess with him, whether it was because of his dark appearance or they didn't want to waste their time on the new kid. Either way he really didn't care in the least about it. He only wanted to be left alone and it seemed that was what he was going to get. The red haired kid on the other hand decided he wasn't going to be left alone and he slowly approached Sasuke. His black jeans and red t-shirt were spotted with small specks of dirt, probably just some old clothes.

As soon as a shadow loomed over him, Sasuke looked up to meet the boy's eyes. They just stared at each other until the boy said something to him, something he never thought anyone here would have guessed about. It just wasn't possible for him to know, but he had.

"Your father beats you doesn't he?"

He said it in a smooth voice that held no emotion at all. Sasuke's eyes widened as his heart race quickened, he hadn't been at the school for a day and someone had already figured out what he had been trying to hide. His question was, how did this kid know? He didn't think his appearance gave anything away, so what had he done to tip this boy off about his father and what happens at home? He decided to play it off and responded in a way he hoped would get this kid off his back.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You're lying."

"How would you know? You don't even know me."

"I know your father beats you, I can see it in your eyes, the hatred and the pain, it hurts doesn't it?"

"Why are you wasting your time with me?"

"Because I know what it's like, my father beat me too."

Sakura wasn't taking anymore of the waiting, so she did what she had never thought she would do in her entire life. She had snuck into the office of her principal when lunch period came around, and went through the remaining records that were left of Sasuke, and she had found his location. He had been transferred to another school and that's where she was going to go. What she had done was completely illegal and she could get into serious trouble, but she didn't get caught so she didn't care, she was going to find her boyfriend, no matter what it cost.

She ditched the rest of school and ran home as fast as she could go, soon enough she arrived and scurried up to her room. From her closet she grabbed a small bag and filled it with two shirts and two pairs of pants along with some under clothes. She packed a little bit of food and grabbed money she had saved up from her dresser drawer. she had his put away to buy a new camera but she as going to use it to get to Suna, she was going to take a bus there so she would need the money.

Grabbing a black hooded jacket, she slipped it on and put the hood over her head. She wrote a quick note to her parents and stuck it on the fridge with the help of a magnet. Then just like that she left the house and headed to the bus station, lucky for her the ticket to get to Suna was pretty cheap and there were very few people on the bus with her. Not many people traveled to Suna, it wasn't exactly a vacation spot to go to so most people avoided it, especially after they heard the horror stories from that place. Sakura seemed not to have taken that into account, and she must have thought there wouldn't have been any trouble she couldn't handle there on her own.

She may as well get some sleep, she wouldn't get there until late anyway, the bus had a few stops to make, which meant picking up more people for the trip. More people she had hoped would leave her alone, knowing what could happen on the bus at night. There would always be those certain people that would decide to mess around with other passengers and she didn't want to be the one in their line of fire.

As soon as Naruto and the others left from their classrooms, they met out front, when they discovered Sakura hadn't come out to meet them they were about to go find her until they heard a car horn honking. It was Sakura's parents, they hurriedly got out of the car and the teens ran over to greet them half way. The look on their face made them realize something was wrong, nothing good was going to come out of what they were about to say.

"What is it?"

"It's Sakura, she's gone."

Sasuke looked at the boy in front of him, shock was written on his face as the red head held out his hand for Sasuke to take, which he hesitated before grabbing his hand and was pulled to his feet. The boy took the liberty of introducing himself first since he knew Sasuke wasn't going to do it.

"I'm Gaara."

"Sasuke."

Sasuke couldn't explain it, but there was something about this kid that made him feel connected to him in some way. Maybe it was the fact of finding someone who knew what it was like to be beaten by the one person who you saw as a hero, someone that you used to love. He would play it safe for now and see what this "Gaara" had to say and then go from there, he had a feeling that he would be able to help him in some way.

"We can leave you know, no one really stays for classes after lunch, even the teachers leave."

Sasuke shurgged and grabbed his stuff, him and Gaara left the school grounds along with all of the other teens. Gaara was right when he said no one stayed, he saw that most of the school was becoming deserted fairly quickly. Sasuke had only one thing on his mind, why would Gaara bother wasting his time with helping him? He didn't even know him, but them again, he didn't know Sakura either and she was the one that got him to talk to his friends.

_'I guess I can't always shut people out.'_

**A/N I apologize again for the late update, personal issues and all, please read and review, the more I get, I'll update quicker next time, I promise. **


	15. What I Deserve

Chapter 15: What I Deserve

~In every loss, in every lie, in every truth that you'd deny  
And each regret and each goodbye was a mistake too great to hide  
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve~

**A/N Alright I know I'm late in uploading this, a month plus a week or so to be honest, but my computer crashed on me, and well I had to rewrite this chapter and having to wait for the computer to get fixed only added more to the wait. So here's the next chapter for those of you who have waited, sorry for the late update, modern technology isn't always the best.  
**

Recap:

Sasuke shrugged and grabbed his stuff, him and Gaara left the school grounds along with all of the other teens. Gaara was right when he said no one stayed, he saw that most of the school was becoming deserted fairly quickly. Sasuke had only one thing on his mind, why would Gaara bother wasting his time with helping him? He didn't even know him, but them again, he didn't know Sakura either and she was the one that got him to talk to his friends.

_'I guess I can't always shut people out.'_

"Where are we going?"

Sasuke asked this as Gaara led him to a large house, fairly big, just a little smaller than a mansion would be. His question wasn't answered until they arrived through the door and walked up the first staircase in the house. Gaara began to explain just what Sasuke had asked in a calm voice that most people would have found suspicious. But Sasuke didn't, he talked practically the same way so he really wouldn't be so quick to judge him on that.

"This is where I live. You see, years ago my siblings I were beaten by our father countless times, until I finally said I had enough. My sister Temari was able to get this place for us seeing as how our mother, who passed away after I was born, left Temari a good amount of money in her will. She had a feeling something would happen so she wanted to make sure we were taken care of. But we had to suffer for years until Temari turned 18, that was when she was able to receive the money."

"So why bring me here?"

"This isn't just my home or my sibling's home, but in fact we take in several kids who have run away. Either dealing with abuse, rape, parents fighting; they all start out on the streets until we find them."

"So this is basically just a safe house."

"Yes. A lot of the kids we used to have are now back home since we have helped them get the police involved."

"I thought no one really cared what happened here."

"They don't but we have about three police officers that try and keep things under control, that's why it takes so long for them to get things sorted out with these kid's families. Between the gang fights, robberies, murders, rape and vandalism they are working as hard as they can."

"How many people die?"

"We average on five hundred and thirty every year. If you want a more accurate answer it's about ten deaths each week. More people move here, so the gangs just grow bigger, and that leads to all the deaths."

Sasuke contemplated this new bit of information, now he wasn't sure whether to trust this kid. Was he in a gang too? Did Gaara only want Sasuke to join him in their fights? The more Sasuke thought the more probable it seemed. He had no clue what to think, but before either of the two could say a word, a woman came down the hallway. She had blonde hair that looked to be in four buns, two below the back of her head near her neck and two on top, the bands that held them in place were purple and matched her light purple shirt. Her jeans looked to be old and torn, probably just work clothes, and her feet were bare except for a pair of short white socks.

"Sasuke, this is my sister Temari, Temari this is Sasuke, he is new to this town."

"Hi Sasuke, I'm sure Gaara has told you what we do here," She grinned and held out a hand, which Sasuke hesitantly shook, not exactly knowing if he was getting the full truth or not.

"Yeah he has, most of it anyway"

"Well what was your answer?"

"Answer to what?" Sasuke frowned, not knowing what she was asking of him.

"Did you not ask him yet Gaara?"

Gaara only shook his head and Temari sighed before nudging her younger brother to go ahead and ask him the question to which she wanted to know the answer to. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a habit that he normally would have done when frustrated with a situation or argument. The red-headed boy glanced at Sasuke before going into what he wanted to say earlier before Temari had interrupted them.

"We want you to join our group, help us stop the other two gangs that are threatening the survival of our town."

Sasuke shook his head and replied with, "Sorry, I didn't come here to join a gang; I was only forced to come here because of my father, and that's it, no gangs, no fights."

"You'll have to choose soon enough Sasuke. The other gangs have already set their sights on you. You think you're safe; you're just lucky I got to you first. You have to choose a side, or they'll make you decide. Here you don't have a choice, you're either in a gang or they'll kill you."

"Then maybe death is something I deserve. If I weren't around my friends wouldn't be in danger."

"You don't deserve that. I can see you have been through a lot with your dad, and then having him drastically change without warning is hard."

"I have been through a lot, more so the passed few days. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get home before I make my dad really mad."

Gaara watched as he walked away and left. As soon as he was down the stairs, Gaara said something to him that would force Sasuke to think about the future choices he'd have to make. And as soon as Sasuke made it through the front door of the large house, his mind was suddenly flooded with the thoughts of what Gaara had previously said. Nothing else had crossed his mind, not even what would happen at home when he returned.

The bump the bus had run over jolted Sakura from her slumber. It took her mind a few seconds to register where she was, and soon all the memories came rushing back. The bus was oddly quiet; no sound even came from the kids that sat with their parents. As she shifted her eyes over the passengers, they caught the sight of a teenage boy that looked suspicious. Sakura didn't think anything of it as her stop came into view. She grabbed her bag and stepped off the large mechanical machine, unaware that someone had followed her. She hadn't even taken more than a few steps before she felt a pair of strong arms grab her and drag her to the side of a building. She screamed but no one was around to hear her, and even if there were, they wouldn't have helped her anyway. But what she hadn't noticed was several more people came running to the side of the building as soon as the bus left.

Sasuke walked down the sidewalk, his bag shifting against his side with each step. His mind was still clouded with the words Gaara had implanted in his head. But those thoughts were interrupted when he heard a feminine scream ring through the air. He stopped in his tracks as he surveyed his surroundings as his hair sprung into his eyes; quickly searching for the source the scream had come from. But when he didn't hear it again, Sasuke was about to just give up when the same scream come from not far from where he was.

He took the chance and sprinted to where he thought he heard the yell. And to his surprise he arrived just in time to see a group of guys trying to rip a girl's shirt off, it was pretty dark so he couldn't see any of their faces. What shocked Sasuke was when he witnessed the one of the guys slam her head into the wall behind her, causing her to lose consciousness. Without thinking of his own safety, Sasuke rushed in and grabbed the the one that had knocked her out and threw him to the ground as the girl fell to the ground still out cold.

The boy stood and soon had his group surround both of them, Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to stand a chance against them alone, but he got into a defensive position anyway. He would fight as hard as he could, but the doubt in his mind was just nagging at him, like an itch that wouldn't go away. The first teen ran towards Sasuke and as if another person had taken control of him, he side stepped and slammed his elbow into the boy's back, causing him to fall to the ground groaning in pain. The self-defensive he took when he was little was finally becoming useful to him, and now was the perfect time to try and save the girl and himself.

When he turned back towards the group in front of him, the leader or Sasuke thought anyway, made them come to a screeching halt. The kid smirked before stepping forward, he had light black hair that was spiked too high. Before Sasuke could say anything, the boy took the liberty of speaking first.

"Hey, you're that new kid that moved her from Konoha aren't you."

"Who wants to know," Sasuke asked, not letting his guard drop for even a second.

"I do, I'm Zaku, I'm one of the leaders of the Underground Sound Gang, boys looks like we have a new recruit."

"What the hell kind of a name is that, and who the fuck said I was joining your pathetic excuse for a gang," Sasuke immediately retaliated after Zaku finished speaking.

"Who said? Well I did of course," Zaku shot back.

"I refuse, especially when you go and try to rape girls at night on the side of a building. What kind of sick person are you? So you can go ahead and kill me right now, because I prefer death instead of joining the sick thing you call a gang."

"You heard him boys, he doesn't want to be apart of our group, and there's no way in hell I'll let you join that other gang," When Zaku finished speaking, and a simple raise of his hand, every single person in that small area charged towards Sasuke.

Sasuke merely bent his knees and put out his arms, this might have been the end, but at least his friends would be safe from the danger his father would have put them in. Just as they were closing in, the sound of sirens terminated their stampede to attack Sasuke without question. Zaku gritted his teeth before yelling to his crew to take off and meet back at the hideout. They decided it wasn't worth getting caught so they were gone in an instant.

Sasuke turned around as soon as he was sure the guys were gone. Kneeling on the ground he turned the girl onto her back, but as soon as he did, his eyes widened upon who he saw lying on the ground, and he had to blink to twice to make sure he wasn't mistaken. But now he was pretty sure on who the identity of the person was.

'Sakura!?' He thought to himself in disbelief.

Footsteps startled him, not wanting to be caught out here, hey a male teenager with an unconscious female...well do the math. It was just a disaster waiting to happen, so he gently picked Sakura up in his arms just as he had done before when Daisuke tried to have his way with her. Grabbing the bag he noticed on the ground, positive that it belonged to Sakura, he left the dark area he was in. Now all that remained was, what would he do with her? Should he take her back to his home? Should he risk her safety? He couldn't leave her out here, no, he had to take her with him. He would make contact with Sakura's parents to come retrieve her as soon as he possibly could, which he preferred sooner than later.

"Where could she have gone?" Keiji asked aloud as he paced around in his living room.

"She probably went to look for Sasuke, I doubt she'd be doing anything else," Shikamaru put in as his eyes watched Keiji pace.

"Did you try calling her cell phone?" Ino asked curiously.

"Yes, and she left it here, most likely on purpose too so we wouldn't be able to make contact with her," Mana stated when she noticed her husband didn't say anything.

"Well this is just great," The sarcasm in Keiji's tone was obvious, "We have two missing teenagers, one boy who was basically kidnapped by his dad and forced to move somewhere else and a girl who decided to run off to find said boy and bring him back. God only knows where the hell they are and if they are or are not ok."

It was clear that Keiji was frustrated yet worried at the same time, the way he spoke in a rushed manor proved that to everyone else. Mana shared the same expressions on her face as she sighed from exhaustion. Her mind wandered to her daughter, there was only one question that ran through her mind.

'Sakura, where are you?'

Ino soon began to feel horrible for teasing Sakura about her relationship with Sasuke, she was sure it was her fault that Sakura up and ran away. There was no doubting what she thought, if she hadn't said those things to Sakura, then maybe the pink-haired girl wouldn't have gotten upset and determined to find Sasuke. Maybe she still would have been here with them, and not out somewhere in the cold streets.

The sound of water running shook Sakura awake. She sat up quickly as she tried to figure out where she was as she recalled what happened before she had blacked out. She began breathing erratically when she noticed she was sitting on a bed in a dark room, immediately thinking she was taken by that creep that grabbed her when she got off the bus. The water that she heard shut off as the bathroom door opened. The light that followed the shirtless figure from the bathroom blinded her, until he shut off the light, shrouding them in darkness.

"I see you're finally awake."

Sakura watched as the male before her walked forward. She flinched and he suddenly halted in his tracks. She was afraid and he knew it, maybe he shouldn't hide in the dark, after all, one scream from her could send them both on a one way ticket to hell. And that was something neither of them needed right now.

"Leave me alone, or I'll scream."

"Sakura--"

"How do you know my name?" She practically yelled at him.

"Will you be quiet?"

"No, I won't be quiet, just let me leave and I swear I won't get the police involved."

"Go ahead, the police don't have time for trivial things such as this. Besides, you'll be wasting their time and yours, not to mention mine as well."

"Just let me leave!" She raised her voice.

"Shut up!" He yelled back, immediately going to a whisper since he knew he yelled too loudly, then he added, "Jeez, you're worse than Naruto."

As soon as he said that, she began to recognize the voice, and just hearing him say the blonde's name, she knew who it was. The thought sent relief through her as she jumped from the bed. The male walked into the light that shone from outside, revealing himself to her. She practically had tears in her eyes as her feet came to rest on the floor.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke smiled as she ran to him and embraced him in a warm hug. It was warm to him, seeing as how he was without a shirt at the moment, but Sakura seemed to be oblivious to that fact. He returned the hug as he took in the scent of her hair; it was the same as it always was. A few minutes passed before Sakura decided to let him go, she was too happy that she had found him. Now the issue at hand was how to convince him to return with her.

"I missed you."

It took Sasuke a few seconds to respond to that. It wasn't that he didn't miss her; it was just that he didn't want to say anything because she'll want to stay here if he refuses to return with her. And as stubborn as she was, she would do everything within her power to try and get it her way. But the situation they were in wouldn't allow her to get what she desired. Aside from that, Sasuke would make sure she left this town safely, even if that meant leaving him behind.

"Sasuke, are you okay? Didn't you miss me too?"

"I--"

Sakura dropped her arms from the embrace and stepped away from him. At that moment Sasuke couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. His arms rested at his side as he struggled to find something to say to her. Sakura took the silence as him not wanting to be with her anymore and she glanced down at her feet.

"Is there someone else Sasuke?" She choked back a sob.

"No, no Sakura it's not that, its just--"

"Admit it, you don't want to be with me anymore, just say it Sasuke."

"I won't say it, cause it's not true. Sakura I did miss you, I just don't miss you enough to want you to be here. You're in danger here, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Sakura let out a breath that she knew she was holding, she was able to calm down after Sasuke had explained to her the situation. But that didn't stop what she did next, she reached up and planted a kiss on his lips, which he eagerly returned, and when she did that, the thought that he didn't want her to be here was gone. He wanted her here, she was really the only one he felt comfortable talking to.

"That little brat," A voice said as he had the door cracked open to where he could see inside Sasuke's room, "You're going to get it now Sasuke, and that little bitch of yours too."

The door to his room was suddenly kicked open, and Sasuke immediately parted from the kiss that they shared. When he saw his dad standing there with a glare and his face scrunched up in anger, he suddenly wished he hadn't brought Sakura back to his house, he knew it was dangerous and now they were going to pay for it. Fugaku walked further into the room and slammed the door shut before locking it.

"I warned you Sasuke, now I'm going to make you watch as I slowly tear her apart emotionally and physically."

Sasuke stood in front of Sakura as she grabbed onto the material of his shirt. She was afraid now, and there was nothing she could do to stop the fear from taking control of her. She was pushed to the ground as she heard Sasuke yell in pain, he was going to be punished and her punishment wasn't too far behind.

**A/N Oh! What could happen next? *Grins Evilly* You'll have to wait and see. Please read and review you guys, I'd loved to hear what you guys think of it. Again I apologize for the long wait. Thanks in advance. ^_^**


	16. Turn for The Worst

Chapter 16: Turn for The Worst

~It's hard to follow your heart when you're all alone  
Impossible to play your part when the scripts unknown  
I heard today it might all go away  
If you would just listen to what I have to say~

**A/N Ah, typing this was a pain in the ass, but I wanted to post it before I left for work, and I got inspired by Criss Angel haha which resulted to the upload today. Gotta love that guy. Anyway, here's the next chapter for all of you guys who have waited patiently and not so patiently lol just kidding. ^_^**

Recap:

_Sasuke stood in front of Sakura as she grabbed onto the material of his shirt. She was afraid now, and there was nothing she could do to stop the fear from taking control of her. She was pushed to the ground as she heard Sasuke yell in pain, he was going to be punished and her punishment wasn't too far behind._

Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke was thrown to the floor only to be picked up and knocked down again painfully. Dark marks began to fade in onto his skin as he tried to force himself to stand. Fugaku walked up to him and kicked him repeatedly before kicking him one last time so he rolled onto his stomach, if that wasn't bad enough, he twisted one of Sasuke's arms and pinned it against the young teen's back. He then proceeded with his torment and grabbed Sasuke by the hair and forced him to look at Sakura.

"You see your girlfriend over there, she's going to have an accident, and by accident I mean a brutal beating that I'm going to force you to watch."

"No..leave her alone," Sasuke struggled to say, the pain was beginning to burn all over his body, "She's not a part of this."

"Oh yes she is, the moment she was over at our house, back in Konoha, hiding in the closet, she became a big part of this."

"....!?

"That's right, I knew when she was there, I know she promised to help you by getting her parents involved, and that's why I made you move here. It would draw little Sakura to Suna to find you, and she took the bait. Now I can get rid of her and you."

Sakura was trembling now; Fugaku was a frightening man when he wanted to be. And this particular moment was no different. The man stood and walked towards Sakura with an evil glint his eyes. But she was frozen with fear, her jade eyes widened as he raised his arm. Sasuke watched with horror as he hit her across the face, she screamed and tried to back away. He tried to get himself to stand but the pain in his abdomen refused to let him up.

Sasuke gazed up again and clenched his teeth from both pain and anger. Fugaku struck Sakura again, and she fell to her side and covered her head with her arms. The young male teen coughed as he tried and failed once again to get to his feet. The adult before him glanced back to him before smirking and turning back to the pink-haired girl. He brought back his fist preparing for another blow. Sasuke's eyes widened, he willed himself to get up again but the burning of pain stopped him yet again.

'_NO! NO!'_ Sasuke screamed in his mind, _'Move Sasuke, move!'_

"NO!" He yelled as soon as he found his voice and jumped to his feet and charged towards his dad.

"What the...?!" Fugaku turned but had no time to finish what he was saying as a fist connected with his jaw followed by a kick to his side.

Fugaku looked up at his son after he fell to the ground. He touched his lip and noticed blood dripping from it. Sasuke looked at him with shock written on his face, what did he just do? Fugaku glared at Sasuke and quickly got to his feet. Sasuke on the other hand wasted no time in pulling Sakura up from the ground and running with her to the door. He struggled to unlock it, and ended up snagging Sakura back when Fugaku came at them. Sasuke then forced Sakura to run and they both went inside the bathroom, where he immediately shut and locked the door.

"OPEN THIS DOOR!" Fugaku yelled, as he banged on the wooden door with his fist.

"GO TO HELL!" Sasuke yelled back not even thinking twice about what he said. He was sitting on the ground leaning against the bathtub with Sakura in his arms.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME? I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT SASUKE! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN!"

Fugaku rammed into the door trying to break it down, and Sasuke flinched each time the door was hit. He glanced down at Sakura and examined the damage to her face, a bloody lip with a dark bruise appearing on her cheek. He gritted his teeth before he looked around and soon spotted the bathroom window, a small spark of hope shot through his veins as he urged Sakura to stand to her feet. The window was small, but a person would be able to slip through it if done correctly. Sakura soon caught on to what he was planning and allowed him to help her up to the small space.

Since they were on the second story of the house, that added an obstacle to their escape. Sakura got through the window only to look to the ground that was below her. She freaked and stopped moving, not moving a muscle as fear set into the pit of her stomach. She was never the strong type when it came to heights but Sasuke had no knowledge of this.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" Sasuke questioned as Fugaku hit the door again with his shoulder.

"I ca-I can't do this Sasuke, its too high," Sakura admitted.

"Sakura its okay, just take it one step at a time, just grab onto the side of the house and you'll be fine," Sasuke assured her, and as she was about to disappear from the window Sasuke said one last thing, "...And Sakura if anything should go wrong don't turn back for me. I want you to run as far away from here as possible. If you go down the street passed the bus stop, you'll come across a large house, knock on the door and ask for Gaara."

"But Sasu-" She wasn't able to finish her sentence when the door was thrown open and Fugaku spotted them.

"GO!" Sasuke ordered as Sakura grabbed onto the side of the house and slid down before falling to the grassy floor beneath her.

Sakura gazed to the window and saw Sasuke shut it roughly. Tears threatened to fall as she heard him yell again knowing full well what was happening to him, she placed her hand over her mouth and shook her head. Sasuke was going to die.

_'Isn't there anything I can do?' _Sakura shouted in her mind, before running over to the front of the house.

She attempted to open the door but it was locked, and repeated the same action with the window only to receive the same result. She gave a frustrated sigh before turning around. With luck she found a large rock out in the driveway, she grabbed the piece of heavy material and tossed it towards the front window. The glass shattered instantly as she ran over to it and reached inside to free the lock. Opening the window she hopped inside, to find she was standing in the living room of the house. Sasuke's scream pierced through the still, quiet air. It had begun to get dark outside as black clouds covered the moon, a lite rain followed not too far after.

Spotting a lamp on a side table, she grabbed it before sprinting up the stairs, she didn't know where the room was, Sasuke had brought her here when she was out cold after all. But a yell was all she needed as she followed it to the source. Appearing at the doorway she saw Sasuke in the middle of a fight with Fugaku, and by the looks of it, he was losing, and horribly at that. His chest, still bare from before was covered in bruises and small cuts, she didn't know how Fugaku could have even them to him.

As Sasuke was knocked to the ground, she mustered up the courage to sprint into the room just as Fugaku made another move to attack Sasuke. With one swift movement she lifted the lamp and hit the older man over the head with it; he fell to the floor unconscious. Sasuke stared in shock as Sakura dropped the lamp and went to his side immediately.

"Sakura, I told you not to come back," He coughed out with a gasp.

"Shut up, I wasn't going to just leave you here," Sakura lectured to him.

A groan startled them as the man on the ground shifted. Sakura pulled Sasuke to his feet and put his arm around her shoulder. She tried to help him run but he was limping the whole way down the hall and the stairs. With a closer look to his face she saw the blood that dripped from his nose and his mouth, and from what she saw there was a lot of it.

"Sakura, I can't breathe," Sasuke choked out as they made it downstairs, and Sakura realized all the hits he took to his abdomen might have caused him not to be able to breathe.

"Just hang on Sasuke," She urged as they made it out the front door into the sprinkles of rain.

They were out of the house and on their way down the street, they slowly passed several buildings and stores, but they went as fast as Sasuke's leg would allow him to go. Soon they passed the bus stop and small side of the building where Sasuke found Sakura earlier. As they continued their slow walk, Sasuke began to feel dizzy, his vision was fading from black back to its normal sight, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer.

"...Sakura, I- I can't-" He trailed off as Sakura stopped and looked down at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"I-" She noticed he trailed off a lot and realized he was either having a really hard time breathing or he was about to pass out. And by the way his eyes kept closing and re-opening she knew he was about to lose consciousness.

She pulled him with her as he slowly trailed by her side, still trying to keep himself awake. Suddenly she spotted a large house not too far from where they were standing and by the size of it, it had to be the house Sasuke spoke of before. The male teen groaned as he suddenly stopped and fell to his knees, bringing Sakura along with him. He bent over and coughed, but what he coughed up wasn't something she was expecting to see; blood.

Her eyes widened and she quickly brought him to stand up, placing his arm around her shoulder once more as she quickly walked towards the house. Sasuke clutched his stomach as they approached the door to the house. Without hesitation Sakura knocked harshly on the thickly made door. It took a few seconds until they heard footsteps from inside the house.

"Geez, who could it be this late?"

"Kankuro shut up," Gaara said calmly.

"Why don't you make me?" Kankuro retorted.

"Will you guys knock it off!" The older of the three said, "This is technically my house, so I can kick you out."

Both of them soon became quiet and Temari smiled with victory. She walked to the door and opened it up, what they saw was something they weren't expecting. A pink-haired girl struggling to hold up Sasuke who finally gave into the pain and fell unconscious.

"Please help him," She pleaded.

Gaara stared shocked but said nothing as he immediately grabbed Sasuke and placed his arm over his shoulder as Kankuro did the same to the boy's other arm. They grabbed him from Sakura's grasp and took him up the stairs to a room that served as their infirmary. Temari led Sakura behind them after she ushered the girl inside and shut the door. But inside of going into the same room as them, she led the young girl to her own room, where she brought out a pair of clothes for her to change into to. Sakura smiled with gratitude as Temari left to go check on the boys while the pink-haired teen changed out of her wet clothes.

Sakura quickly changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and a light pink tank top and then bolted from the room, leaving her discarded clothes on the floor. She bounded down the hall and skidded to a halt when she saw the room they took Sasuke into. As she walked in, she noticed they had begun cleaning up his wounds. Which included his lip, his bloody nose, plus a small cut on his head that Sakura hadn't noticed before, which could have led to the state Sasuke was in now.

"How is he?" Sakura dared to ask.

"Well, he was beaten up pretty bad as you can see. I've never seen someone this messed up before. How the hell did this happen?"

"Sasuke's father did to him," Sakura spat angrily.

"I see he got to you as well," Gaara said as he gestured to her face.

"Yes. He did."

"Are you okay?"

"I should be, I'm just worried about Sasuke right now."

"Temari, clean up her face and put some stuff on her bruises to help them heal up."

Temari nodded as she led Sakura over to a bed that was near the one Sasuke was currently laying on. She grabbed a cloth and wet it with a clear liquid that would help clean out the cut, and began dabbing it on Sakura's lip. She flinched a few times, but the feeling quickly faded once the wound was cleaned out. Sakura received a bandage on her cheek that covered the brusie, but she felt something cool and soon figured that Temari had placed something on the small medical supply that would help her bruise heal.

"You didn't fully answer my question, how is he?" Sakura asked as soon as Temari finished with her.

"I can't really say, but there may be some bruising to his ribs and that might be difficult to help him out with. As for the cuts and wounds on his face, we can get those cleaned and wrapped up. But we'll have to wait and see how he's feeling when he wakes up."

"Thanks--Gaara right?" She questioned unsure but smiled slightly when he nodded his head for confirmation, "Um, do you guys have a phone I could use?"

"Sure, Temari would you mind, Kankuro and I should change Sasuke's clothes, so all girls out."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't have to tell me twice. Come on Sakura follow me," Temari smiled as Sakura nodded and followed her without question.

Temari led Sakura to her room and walked over to a nightstand that had a cell phone sitting on it. Temari handed the piece of technology to the other female and allowed her some privacy as she left the room to go to the kitchen downstairs. Sakura dialed the numbers that would connect her to her parents and placed the phone against her ear. She was sure she was going to get yelled at, she did run away from home to go find Sasuke and she found him, actually he was the one that found her, and he may not have been in good shape at the moment, but still she was reunited with him, they would let her off the hook wouldn't they? Sakura sighed as she waited for someone to pick up the phone, but all she heard was the ringing.

Keiji was just about to head upstairs when he heard the phone ringing, with a sigh he just continued walking up the stairs. He figured it was the police and he didn't want to hear them say they still didn't have any leads on where the two teens were, so he just ignored it. Which wasn't a good idea for the person calling was exactly who he was looking for.

Sakura groaned with frustration, her parents were probably already in bed and worried sick about her. She shouldn't have left them to worry over her, she knew they were, it was just something parents did. She hit the end button and set the phone back on the nightstand that Temari had grabbed it from. Shaking her head she walked out of the room and headed back to where they placed Sasuke, pretty sure she was allowed to go back in by now. She would just have to wait until morning to call her parents, hopefully they would pick up the phone then and not just ignore it.

As she walked back into the room, she noticed that Sasuke was gone, Temari was the only one there. She was cleaning up the room, and removing the sheets from the bed Sasuke laid on earlier, he did get blood on them after all. Temari turned when she sensed someone behind her, she smiled and continued with what she was doing.

"Gaara and Kankuro took Sasuke to one of the spare bedrooms we have here, its the room down the hall, fourth door on your right."

Sakura smiled and said her thanks before heading to the location specified by the blonde haired girl in the other room. As she approached the door she saw the two boys that helped Sasuke walk out of the room. They glanced up and saw her before bidding their good byes and good nights, they said they would check on the two in the morning and Sakura smiled her gratitude and returned the good night to them before walking through the door.

Walking into the room as quietly as she could, Sakura tip-toed over to the bed and gazed at the boy that was resting on it. The covers only going up to his waist, his chest which was bare, was covered by bandages. Gaara must have made the decision to not put a shirt on him, the bandages were already covering Sasuke and they didn't want to add any discomfort to him with a shirt while he slept. She leaned over the bed and placed her hand against Sasuke's cheek causing Sasuke to flinch in his sleep. Sakura knew it wouldn't be long until he woke up, he was surely going to have nightmares about this pretty soon.

She gently lay down onto the bed and slipped under the covers before daring to rest her head on Sasuke's shoulder. She didn't want to risk laying her head on his chest in fear of hurting him. She sighed and whispered something into Sasuke's ear, she didn't know if he heard her or not but either way she said it and she fell asleep with a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks.

**A/N Alright, please read and review and let me know what you think of this chapter, I was about to give up on typing this, due to a bad mood but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. Thanks for reading to those to you who have read it, please review. The more I get I'll update sooner next time, the next chapter is already being written.**


	17. No End At All

Chapter 17: No End At All

~You break the glass, try to hide your face  
Recorded lines that just will not erase  
And buried in your loss of innocence  
You wonder if you'll find it again~

**A/N Okay, so I know I said this was going to be published the other day but my family is going through some rough times right now and I can't focus on writing very much.  
**

**But anyway, I've been doing some thinking and I've noticed a lot of people have this story on their alert list but some don't even bother to leave a review. At least fifty-seven people have this on their list but I only receive about seven or so reviews on a chapter. Now I don't want to disappoint people but this will be the last chapter I will post until more reviews come in. If the total reviews goes up to at least 97 then I will post a new chapter but until then I will be focusing on personal things at home.  
**

**This chapter is dedicated to innocent-blusher, who has been with me through this whole story. Thanks for your reviews on the chapters. ^_^**

Recap:

_She gently lay down onto the bed and slipped under the covers before daring to rest her head on Sasuke's shoulder. She didn't want to risk laying her head on his chest in fear of hurting him. She sighed and whispered something into Sasuke's ear, she didn't know if he heard her or not but either way she said it and she fell asleep with a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks._

It wasn't long until Sasuke began to stir in his sleep, his face became sweaty as his breathing quickened, all while his face was scrunched up as if he were in pain. Sakura taking notice that something was moving, she quickly opened her eyes and sat up. Looking to her side she spotted Sasuke, and from the looks of it, he was having a bad dream, this came to no surprise to her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him, hoping that it would wake him up from the nightmare that was occuring in his mind.

"Sasuke," She whispered as she shook him again.

He still didn't wake when she continued shaking him. This began to scare her so she sat up on her knees and placed her hands against his cheeks and began calling his name. Sakura was beginning to worry, but as she called his name one final time, he shot up from the bed into a sitting position as her hands dropped from his face.

His eyes were wide as he tried to calm himself down, he was too busy trying to calm down, he didn't notice Sakura was there until she touched his cheek again and made him jump while he attempted to pull away, but that movement caused him to grunt in pain and immediately grab his side from the stinging he felt.

"Sasuke," She said as she placed her hands on each side of his face and made him look at her, "It's okay, you were just having a nightmare, every things fine. Your dad isn't here."

Sasuke tried to catch his breath as he reached up with shaky hands and placed his head on them. He sighed deeply when he got himself together, then took a deep inhale of breath and exhaled it slowly. He removed his hands from his face and looked up to Sakura, he felt the sting of tears that were trying to make their way to the surface. Sakura realized this when he wiped his hand across his eyes in an attempt to stop them.

"Sasuke, was it really that bad?"

He didn't answer but instead looked away as some of the tears escaped his eyes, Sakura wasted no other second as she pulled him into an embrace. She held him in her arms like a mother would do for her child when they were scared, and whispered comforting things into his ear. At that moment Sasuke just let his tears fall, at least it was only Sakura here, he wouldn't feel comfortable doing this in front of a lot of people. He still didn't like to cry in front of her, but he just couldn't help it.

"It's okay."

"No it's not, nothing is ever okay Sakura, it never will be," He managed to say as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yes it will, after your dad gets locked up, everything can go back to normal."

"Normal? Sakura, nothing in my life is normal, it can never be normal."

Sakura just hugged him tighter, fearing if she let go, he would vanish and she would never see him again. She had to call her parents as soon as possible, first thing in the morning would be better, she just hoped they would answer the phone and not just ignore it or some other form of reason they wouldn't pick it up.

Fugaku sat in his living on the couch, surprisingly he wasn't drunk, but pissed is more the term. Rage consumed his eyes as he dabbed the white towel on his lip, where Sasuke had punched him earlier. That boy was really crawling under his skin, and if he didn't find those two teens soon, he would get sent to prison for sure.

He stood from the couch and walked over to the window that Sakura had broken to get into the house. He stared out into the streets as rain fell from the sky, he knew that those two were out there, they wouldn't have left yet, but if he didn't hurry they would escape his grasp, just as they had did just a few hours ago.

"Just you wait Sasuke, I may not get your girlfriend, but I'll sure as hell get you, and I think I know just how to do that."

He gave a sinister smirk as he walked up to his room to grab his shoes. There was a group of people he needed to talk to, and he was sure they would be more then willing to help him out with the little problem that was his son. What they do, they do best, and they would surely know where Sasuke would be hiding in this city.

The next morning, Keiji was sitting at the table in the kitchen with the phone next to him. He was still waiting for the call that would tell them where his daughter and Sasuke were at. His wife had gone down to the police station but Keiji stayed behind just in case someone called. He sighed with frustration, still waiting and getting slightly aggravated. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone rang and he quickly grabbed the receiver and hesitantly put it near his ear.

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Sakura?" He whispered questioningly with disbelief.

"Yeah its me, listen um I know you're probably mad with me, but I'm ok. I found Sasuke-"

"Where are you two?" He cut her off.

"We're in Suna, staying with some friends we met."

"Are you guys alright?" Keiji couldn't help but feel for the worst.

"I'm okay, but Sasuke, he's pretty beat up. We had a fight with his dad last night and he got the worst of it," Sakura replied back hoping her father would drop the subject.

"Did he hurt you?"

"..."

"Answer me Sakura." Keiji gritted his teeth, he already had his answer.

"My wound isn't too bad, Fugaku just hit me in the face a couple times."

"That son of a bitch. Where are you at? What's the address?" Sakura sighed and told him the directions to the house they were in. "You're mother and I will be there soon."

Sakura said her goodbye and hung up the phone. She looked over to Sasuke who was laying still on the bed, his eyes just watching as the ceiling fan went in circles. His ribs were bruised or that's what Temari had confirmed when she came to check up on him earlier, so he tried to keep his movements to a minimum. Sasuke looked to her when she walked over to the mattress, the bruises on his face had grown darker but would fade in due time, just like every other bruise he had gotten before.

"Sasuke, my parents will be here as soon as they can, we'll be safe with them."

"No we won't. They'll get hurt because of me, just like you were." Sasuke turned onto his side so his back was facing her. "Why do I even bother continuing to try and run away. He'll catch me soon enough, it's just a matter of time."

The pink-haired girl frowned at this, she crawled onto the mattress and put her arm over his side as if to hug him. She rested her cheek in the crook of his neck as he laced his fingers with hers on the hand that was draped over his side. It would have been a nice moment, but Sakura had started to cry silently which Sasuke just let her. He knew he was scaring her with his words but there was no use in denying the truth, even if he himself didn't want to believe it.

Kakashi was confused it had almost been a whole week and Sasuke and Sakura still haven't shown up for class. He tried calling both of their parents but he ended up with no answers. One said the phone had been disconnected and the other said the line was busy. Something was going on and he aimed to find out what exactly it was.

But he first had to get out of this class, damn long days of school.

Sasori tapped his nails on the counter as he watched customers go in and out of the store. Sasuke hadn't been to work in a while and he was getting worried. He knew it had something to do with the fact that Fugaku beats him but he couldn't place why Sasuke wasn't there at all. His eyes widened, and he felt stupid for not realizing it before.

_"What if his dad has seriously hurt him?!!"_

He wasted no time in asking the assistant manager to cover for him, and rushed out with no word about where he was going. There had to be a way he could help him and Sasori was going to do just that.

School ended as Naruto walked out of the building with Hinata by his side, she was trying everything within her power to cheer him up, but she was failing miserably. Whether it was because of her shyness or him just not being in the mood, he just wouldn't smile for her. They stopped near a tree that was outside the school and waited for the rest of their companions to arrive so they could head home.

Neji and Shikamaru were the first to join them, but they all were wondering what was taking Ino and Tenten so long to come out of the school. Knowing Ino, she was probably in the bathroom fixing her make-up and poor Tenten got dragged with her. But they soon go their answer when the two teens came running to them, either dodging people or just shoving them out of their way, which was obviously Tenten.

"You guys!" Came Ino's voice.

The two females came to a stop in front of their friends and attempted to catch their breaths. Their companions were standing with a brow raised waiting for them to tell them what was so important.

"Guys, Sakura's parents know where her and Sasuke are!" Ino immediately said, "Mana called me a few minutes ago and told me."

"They are going now." Tenten out in.

"Where are they?"

"They were in Suna."

"What?! That place is a death trap." Neji stated with wide eyes.

"What do you mean Neji?" Tenten questioned curiously.

Naruto answered for him before the boy had a chance to respond. "The place is full of gang members and shit like that, people die over there everyday."

"How do you know that?" Ino asked.

"Sasuke used to live there before, his parents then decided to move them here because of all the gangs fights and riots that occurred out there." Naruto clenched his fists and then added, "..I should have know Fugaku would have taken him back there."

"Naruto there was no way you could have known." Hinata said quietly.

Naruto expressed inner turmoil, which the others noticed by the look on his face.

"I'm going."

"What?!" All of them drawled out as they started at their blond-haired friend.

"I said I'm going, I'm going to go to Suna and bring them back."

"No, you can't." Ino looked at him as Naruto returned the gesture. "Mana told me that we have to stay here, her and Keiji have the police going with them so we'd just get in their way. Besides they fear for our safety."

Naruto nodded and slumped his shoulders. But in his mind he had already decided. It was friday tomorrow, so his parents wouldn't mind if he skipped, would they?"

_'I'm still going."_

Later that evening, Sasuke and Sakura had just finished the meal Gaara and his siblings had provided for them. Though Sasuke didn't eat much despite Sakura's pleas for him to eat more than a few spoonfuls. But he had a horrible feeling in his gut and that alone was left him nauseated and not hungry at all.

"I assume this will be enough for you to complete the task I have asked?" Fugaku stated as he held out a large amount of money in his hand.

"Yes, that will do just fine. So you want him brought to you right?"

"Yeah, and don't be afraid to beat him up a little." Fugaku smirked a bit, "But I want him at my house by nightfall."

"No worries on that."

"Don't fuck this up Zaku."

"Oh I guarantee I won't."

Sasuke sat on the bed in the infirmary to get his wounds retreated as Sakura sat opposite him to have her wounds re-bandaged as well. Everything seemed quiet at the moment, and they wondered why. The occupants of the infirmary headed downstairs but saw no one. Where were all of their living mates? There wasn't anyone around.

They walked into the living room just as Sasuke was grabbed by the arm and yanked back. He gave out a slight yell which caused them to turn around to see a man with a strong grip around Sasuke's neck. If that wasn't enough, as soon as Gaara and Kanakuro attempted to make a move, the make pulled out a gun and placed it against Sasuke's temple.

"SASUKE!" Sakura yelled as the two sibling stopped in their tracks.

"Don't move, or you'll regret it."

"Now now Zaku don't be so hasty."

"Shut it Dosu, we don't have time for this."

"Oh right fine."

"Where are the kids?" Temari asked.

"They are fine for the moment, another couple of our members took them outback to keep them out of the way." Dosu smile beneath what seemed to be a bandage around his face. He must have been injured in a fight from the looks of it, and from the size of the bandage it was pretty bad.

"Let's get out of here."

Dosu nodded in agreement to Zaku's statement and turned around with a quick turn of his heel and headed towards the door. Zaku began to back up while keeping an eye on the group in front of him. Sasuke struggled to get free from his grasp, obviously not caring if he got shot. But all he received was a quick hit to his side, that forced him to stop struggling against the male and grabbed hold of the source of pain.

Zaku soon whispered into his ear with a smirk playing across his lips. "Stop struggling, I would have already shot you if it wasn't for your dad paying us to bring you to him."

Sasuke's eyes widened, he glanced to Sakura who had tears in her eyes, when they disappeared from sight. She fell to her knees with a sob.

'I failed to help him again. Why can't I do anything right in this whole situation.'

Temari knelt down to the sobbing girl, saying everything she could to get her to stop crying.

"We'll get him back, it'll be ok."

But no matter what she said, Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that she would never see Sasuke again. That alone forced her tears to surface again and again.

Naruto had his stuff packed, his parents thought he already went to bed so they minded their own business, knowing he didn't want to talk about what had happened to Sasuke. He had a bag over his shoulder as he quietly slipped out of the window of his bedroom. But as soon as he reached the bottom he felt a hand on his shoulder which caused him to jump in surprise.

He turned around and was met eye to eye with Neji. He was always smart so he knew what Naruto was thinking the minute he heard where Sasuke and Sakura were at. Naruto looked down to avoid Neji's stare but what he said caused Naruto to look up with shock.

"You didn't think you were going alone did you?"

"But I thought-"

"You thought wrong, come on the others are waiting in my car."

Naruto smiled, before nodding and following Neji to where he parked so his parents wouldn't hear the roar of the engine outside their home. They were getting theirs friends back, because they decided to take charge.

**A/N Okay, so I was about ready to kill everybody off in this chapter because I had to retype this thing here at midnight since my computer screwed up and deleted half of what I wrote. But I resisted, so here's the next chapter, please read and review if you want the next chapter to be posted.**

**Here's a little sneak peak of what's to come:**

Let Me In 18: Wrong Choices

Fugaku continued in his rage filled attack on Sasuke. He was beating him nonstop and Sasuke felt like his body was going to give in to the pain. He was going to pass out, he wanted to die, he didn't want to face this anymore. But as Sasuke stood to try and run, Fugaku chased him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Without any second thoughts, he brought out a knife he had concealed in his sleeve and plunged it straight into his abdomen. Before he knew it, the male looked him in the eyes.

"Dad...why?"

**A/N Hehe I'm so evil, so you know what to do if you want that chapter posted. Come on people I don't want to leave you hanging, but I'm going to stick to my words. Review!  
**


	18. Wrong Choices

Chapter 18: Wrong Choices

~Right now you're bruised and bleeding  
I see the hurt within your eyes  
I know your pain is for a reason  
You need to feel just to know that You're alive~

**A/N I would like to thank all of you guys for the reviews and those of you who have added this story to their favorites list.**

**I wasn't going to leave you hanging no matter the number of reviews I received. I only needed an estimate on how many people wanted this story updated sooner rather than later. So you guys deserve this chapter. I think I managed to make it longer, oh well. =P  
**

_Recap:_

_"You thought wrong, come on the others are waiting in my car."_

_Naruto smiled, before nodding and following Neji to where he parked so his parents wouldn't hear the roar of the engine outside their home. They were getting their friends back, because they decided to take charge._

Sasuke was already bleeding from his lip where Zaku had punched him. They were currently outside a house and it was one Sasuke recognized, he wished at that moment he was dead. Though in a few minutes he could very well be headed down that road, as much as he wanted to deny that fact, he just couldn't.

The front door opened revealing the man Sasuke never wanted to see again. Fugaku just glared at him with a murderous gaze, one that said you fucked up big time. Sasuke saw the damage he left on his father's face and he couldn't help but grin inwardly, he deserved that for hurting Sakura. And he briefly wondered how she was coping.

"Well Sasuke, surprised to find yourself back here?"

Sasuke didn't say anything but instead remained silent, he wasn't going to answer him. He refused to answer to the man before him. Fugaku gave an angry scowl as he gestured for Zaku to throw Sasuke in the house. The young teen landed a few feet in front of the door, and stayed where he was for a few moments.

"Zaku, I believe our deal is complete."

"Yes it is, rough him up for me would ya? I would have done a lot more damage, but I figure you would want to do that."

"You can stick around. I believe his friends will be coming to help him. You can have them and do whatever the hell you want."

"Sweet, we'll wait on the side of the house until they show up. We'll surprise them when they think they have the upper hand."

Fugaku merely smirked and nodded as the gang members left and allowed Fugaku to shut his door and lock it. Sasuke looked up at him as he was seated on the floor when the older man began advancing towards him. He slid backwards, backing further away until he got up and ran up the stairs, desperately trying to get as far as he could from his dad as possible.

Fugaku didn't let him get ahead start before he took off after him. Things were going to get ugly and Sasuke was going to try and prolong it for as long as he could, even if it was just for a little while. If there was any chance to keep himself from feeling pain, then he was going to do it, even if he was only delaying the inevitable.

Sakura sat on the stairs at Gaara and his sibling's place, Temari had brought her a cup of hot tea, but she refused it. She hadn't even noticed when a knock came at the door. Gaara went to answer it as Kankuro came from the kitchen with some tissues for Sakura. She needed something to clean up her face from all the crying.

"Hey Sakura."

She looked up upon hearing her name being called, and following Gaara were her parents and a few police officers. She was surprised they got here as fast as they did. She smiled slightly and stood from the steps and wiped her face with her hand.

"Mom! Dad!"

Not wasting a second, she ran to her parents and hugged them. They returned the hug and released her and smiled happily and wiped her face of the tears that spilled despite her wiping her eyes a few seconds before.

"Sakura where's Sasuke?"

"I don't know." Sakura looked down. "A group of gang members came here and took him away. I think they may have took him back to Fugaku."

"Shit! Do you know where he lives?"

"I don't really know. But if we drive around I might be able to recognize the house we were in."

"Alright but you are staying in the car no matter what."

"No, I'm helping him."

"No you're not Sakura, leave it to us."

"I'm not going to sit back and do nothing."

"Sakura listen to your father."

"I'm not a little girl anymore dad! I failed in helping Sasuke so many times when he needed me. I'm not going to do it again."

"Sakura-"

"Dad please, I need to help."

"Fine, but if I feel your life is getting to a point where its in danger, I'm making you leave."

"Fine."

Keiji nodded his head, as he turned to the police officers that were behind them. The officers nodded back as they all ran to the cars that were outside. Gaara turned to Temari and Kankuro.

"You two stay here and watch the others. I'm going to go help them out."

"Be careful Gaara." Temari smiled as she hugged her younger brother.

"I will, I'll be back."

Gaara left the house and ran down to the driveway where Keiji started the car. Sakura opened the back door for him to get in as she slid in beside him. They drove off first as the police officers drove in their cars and followed them. Sakura kept her eyes out for the house that she and Sasuke ran from not too long ago, she was determined and that was clear by the way she watched the houses they passed.

Neji glanced around the neighborhood looking for any signs of Sakura and her parents. They were all crammed into Neji's vehicle, seeing as how they didn't want to bring more than one car. Tenten sat in the front passenger seat, while Ino was on Shikamaru's lap in the back behind Neji, while Hinata and Naruto sat next to each other, Hinata sitting in the middle.

Naruto glanced out the window and spotted three cars pass them, two of which were police cars. He thought back to what Ino had told them about Mana and Keiji taking the police with them. He turned to look at Neji and grabbed his attention when he spoke up.

"Neji, turn and follow those cars."

"What? Why?"

"I think it may have been Sakura, there were two police vehicles with another car that wasn't from the police department."

"It's worth a shot. Besides Mr. and Mrs. Haruno brought the police with them right?"

"Yeah."

"So let's go." Tenten threw in as Neji turned his car around and followed the three vehicles that passed them.

They were surprised when the cars turned and stopped in front of a house. When the occupants of the cars got out, they were relieved to see Sakura and her parents, but they didn't recognize the red-haired male that stepped out with them. Neji pulled his car by the curb behind where the police had parked causing Sakura and the authorities to look at them.

When they stepped out, Sakura and her parents looked with shock. Keiji and Mana shook their heads, they told them to stay behind but obviously the teens paid no heed to what they said. That was kids for you, never listened to what the adult said no matter how dangerous the situation at hand was.

Sasuke and Fugaku were upstairs when they heard the car doors slamming outside. Fugaku looked to Sasuke, he thought the boy must have called the police somehow, but didn't bother to find out how. Sasuke ducked a punch made by the older man and ran from the room they were in. His abdomen burned from the hit he received a few minutes ago, he clutched the sore spot as he ran into his room and slammed the door shut, he locked it and backed up as Fugaku pounded on it.

He attempted to open the window, but to his surprise the window had been nailed shut from the outside. Fugaku had clearly thought of everything this time, there wasn't anywhere he could go. The bathroom was surely out of the question, if he nailed his bedroom window shut, he most likely did the same to the bathroom window.

His heart was beating wildly in his chest when he leaned against the far wall across from the door. He lifted his knees to his chest and clutched his head in his hands. He began shaking, and flinching whenever Fugaku rammed into the door.

"DAMN IT SASUKE UNLOCK THE DOOR!"

_'Go away!'_ Sasuke shouted in his mind as he clutched his head tighter. '_Just leave me alone. Please someone help me! Mom! What do I do?!'_

Sasuke wouldn't deny the tears that were falling down his face, he squeezed his eyes shut, praying that this was all just a bad dream. Praying he was just unconscious back at Gaara's place and Sakura would wake him up. But the world was harsh, he wasn't dreaming, this was reality, Fugaku would surely take his life this time, and there wasn't anyone who could stop him.

"SASUKE! YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Fugaku slammed his body into the door and finally managed to break it down. Sasuke's eyes shot open and looked up as the man came barraling into the room. He dodged to the floor when Fugaku aimed a kick at him, but he ended up kicking the wall instead of his real target. Sasuke slipped as he tried to stand, and Fugaku grabbed his ankle, forcing him to the ground.

Sasuke was punched in the face, causing his vision to go black. It was only a temporary knock out, but that gave Fugaku enough time to drag the teen to the master bedroom. Fugaku grabbed the chair that was by the desk in the room where the he himself slept and sat Sasuke into the chair as he gave out a groan of pain. Fugaku snatched up the roll of duct tape he set on his bed before Sasuke was brought here, and began tying the teen down.

Onyx eyes opened slowly, a wave of dizziness overcame Sasuke as he glanced up. He tried moving but found that he couldn't. His arms had been bound down to the arms of a brown chair. The same with his legs which were taped to the legs of the chair he sat on. He couldn't say anything since there was a piece of the duct tape on his mouth preventing him from yelling for help.

His eyes came to rest in front of him and he spotted Fugaku a few feet away from his position standing in the doorway.

"Well Sasuke, what should I do with you?" Fugaku looked at him as he twirled a pair of scissors on his fingers. "We have ourselves quite a situation now don't we? Should I kill you fast, or painfully slow?"

When he didn't respond, Fugaku stepped forward and hit him across the face. Sasuke grunted in pain and tried to look away, but Fugaku grabbed his hair and forced him to look into his eyes.

"Your mother's and Itachi's deaths were your fault you know? They protected you, and they died because of it."

"Guys!" Sakura sprinted over to them.

"Sakura!" They all shouted at once.

"Where's Sasuke?"

"We think he's in there." Sakura pointed to the house, causing their expressions to change from relief to worry.

"Let's go." The police officer said as him and the other three walked towards the door not noticing the figures that watched their every move. "You guys stay behind us just in case."

When they nodded, the officer banged on the door. He had pulled his gun, preparing for the worst. When no one answered they attempted to break down the door, but it didn't budge. That resulted in them trying again to break it open.

Sasuke glared at his dad as tears fell down his face. But the more Fugaku said it was his fault the more Sasuke believed it to be true. He clenched his eyes shut to clear the tears that were blurring his vision. His dad chuckled and released the grip he had on his hair and paced back and forth in front of him. Sasuke struggled to get free from the tape that was holding him in place.

"Your mom blames you for allowing her to die. Itachi blames you for what happened. He told me himself when he was dying in the hospital."

More tears came from Sasuke's eyes, those words struck him deep, but he had to be lying. Itachi would never say anything like that to him. He would never blame him for something that was out of his control. They chose to protect him, he didn't ask them to, they did it because they cared for him, didn't they?

_'It has to be a lie, it can't be true!' _Sasuke clenched his eyes shut trying to rid himself of what he was thinking. But it fit, he was to blame for their deaths, it was all his fault. His mind briefly flashed back to that night.

_"MOM!" Sasuke yelled out as she fell to the floor in front of him, her blood was already all over her clothes and they began to stain his when he picked her up in his arms. "Please don't die mom!"_

_Mikoto lifted her cheek to wipe the tears from his eyes. 'Don't cry sweetheart, everything will be ok.'_

_Sasuke glanced up at his dad who held Itachi in his arms, Fugaku looked to his youngest son with total hate written across his face. Sasuke was speechless, he didn't know what to say.  
_

Fugaku stopped pacing and walked towards him. He lifted his hand and struck Sasuke in the face again snapping him from his thoughts, but he hit Sasuke with the pair of scissors, which resulted in a cut on his cheek. The cut was way too close to his eye, he was lucky he didn't get struck across his iris. Sasuke breathed in and out through his nose rapidly as his eyes became watery.

"You know." Fugaku continued. "...I can't wait for your girlfriend and who ever else she gets to come help you. I'm going kill her very slowly and make you watch every...little...detail. Hear every...little...scream. And you won't be able to do anything to save her."

Sasuke tried to yell, but it was all muffled by the tape. Fugaku chuckled when he heard the door down stairs open. He smirked and hid behind the open door of the bedroom. Sasuke struggled even harder than before, since he saw Fugaku grab a gun from his dresser beforehand, trying desperately to warn whoever was coming into the house.

His eyes widened when he saw Sakura, Gaara and Naruto followed by Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Mana, and Keiji come up the stairs. There were four police officers with them and Sasuke's eyes began to grow blurry with tears of anger.

He tried to get his hands free so he could pull the tape from his mouth to warn them, Sakura was the first to spot him. Her eyes widened upon seeing his condition, and she and the others scurried over to him while the police officers checked the other rooms, looking for any signs of the abuser named Fugaku.

Shaking his head, he silently tried to tell them to stay away, but they didn't see what he was trying to do. They only continued to make their way towards him, and Sasuke felt like his heart dropped to his stomach, then things just suddenly stopped. They were going to die. It would be all his fault, again, just like it was with his brother and his mom. They were going to get themselves killed trying to protect him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled slightly, but not too loud to the point where everyone could hear it.

"Oh shit." Keiji stated with a quiet tone.

Just as they reached the room, Fugaku appeared from behind the door and aimed his gun at the group in front of him. Sasuke felt useless, there wasn't anything he could do. Fugaku readied himself to pull the trigger, that would send one of the people to the floor. The cops stopped them in their tracks and pointed their guns back at the man.

_'This is all my fault, there's nothing I can do to save them.' _He clenched his eyes and shook his head, racking his brain to figure out something to do.

"What are you going to do? Shoot me? What if a stray bullet hit Sasuke and killed him?" The police lowered their guns.

"We're not that inexperienced. Besides its all of against just you."

"I'd recount if I were you."

All of their heads turned to see Zaku and Dosu with several of their gang members. Now Naruto and the others were the ones outnumbered, but that didn't seem to phase the spiky-haired blond, nor the others around him. They were in this for the long run, they knew what was at stake by coming to help Sasuke.

"About time you guys came, I was afraid you would miss out on the fun." Fugaku chuckled, but was silenced immediately when Keiji lunged at him.

That move started their fight along with the fight between the police and Sasuke's friends, and the gang members before them. Naruto charged towards the group, not thinking of his safety at all. Sakura and Hinata pushed their way through the fights and managed to reach Sasuke. He was frantically trying to escape the his imprisonment, but the two girls got to him and helped tear away the tape.

As soon as Sasuke was free he let out a exhale of breath and looked at Sakura who reached to his face to push some of his hair away. His nerves calmed a little, but they tensed back when Keiji was knocked to the ground by Fugaku. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he tackled his dad to the ground, knocking him off of Sakura's dad.

Keiji turned to Sasuke and his daughter before telling her silently to get Sasuke out of here. He was the one Fugaku was really after, and if they got him away, Sasuke's father wouldn't have a chance of killing him. Sasuke was reluctant to leave Keiji alone with his dad but the older Haruno assured him that he would be fine.

Still unsure but forced himself to believe him, Sasuke nodded and ran with Sakura and Hinata to the stairs. Fugaku noticed this, and called for Zaku who spared no second in grabbing Keiji so Fugaku could go after Sasuke. The other gang members kept Naruto and the others busy and no one was able to stop him from reaching Sasuke.

"SASUKE! LOOK OUT!" Keiji shouted as he punched Zaku.

Sasuke turned his head and saw his dad coming after him. He pushed Sakura and Hinata out of the way as Fugaku slammed him into the wall near the stairs. Sasuke coughed from the pain and dodged his dad's punches, Fugaku aimed the gun at Sasuke but the teen managed to knock it from his hand and sent it falling down the stairs. That didn't stop him though as he knocked Sasuke to the floor.

Fugaku continued in his rage filled attack on Sasuke. He was beating him nonstop and Sasuke felt like his body was going to give in to the pain. He was going to pass out, he wanted to die, he didn't want to face this anymore. But as Sasuke stood to try and run, Fugaku chased him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Without any second thoughts, he brought out a knife he had concealed in his sleeve and plunged it straight into his abdomen. Before he knew it, the male looked him in the eyes.

"Dad...why?"

Time seemed to stop for all the occupants in the house. The gang members all dispersed, finding ways out of the house through any of the windows they could find, cowards were what they were. Sasuke felt like he was spinning he had become disoriented and before anyone knew it, Sasuke fell backwards and tumbled down the stairs.

Sakura tried to go after him but Hinata held her back when Fugaku rushed down the stairs before her. The older Uchiha grabbed the gun and aimed it at Sasuke who was lying on his right side with his right arm tucked underneath him, his left just rested in front of his face. Keiji and the others stood motionless, either too shocked to move or afraid to do anything.

Fugaku stood there for a few seconds before his finger made its way to the trigger. Sasuke looked up at the man with his eyes half closed.

_'Is this it for me?'_

Suddenly somebody jumped at Fugaku and knocked him to the ground, forcing the gun to slide away. Keiji's eyes widened along with Mana's when Sakura stood from the floor and knelt down and punched the man repeatedly. Keiji rushed to her and forced her to stop.

"You fucking bastard. You deserve to die." She struggled against her father's hold as the police surrounded the man.

"Sakura enough, its over." She calmed down but her eyes immediately shifted to Sasuke who had lost consciousness, or that's what they thought.

His eyes were open slightly, but he wasn't responding to them at all. One of the officers radioed in for an ambulance immediately while Sakura made an attempt to move him only to be stopped by her mother's hand, which confused her slightly.

"Wait for the ambulance. There's no telling what damage could be done by moving him."

The ambulance seemed like it took forever to get there. Keiji and Mana were shocked when they said they would need to air lift Sasuke to the hospital in Konoha. It was the closest city to this one and Suna didn't have very good medical stability. They wrapped Sasuke with white gauze after removing his shirt to see the damage to his stomach and put an oxygen mask over his mouth.

Fugaku was taken to one of the police cars and taken back to Konoha as well. Sakura watched as they put Sasuke in the helicopter and took him away, now she was afraid that he wasn't going to make it. That thought alone caused her to weep silently, her mother ushered her to the car and prepared to leave. They offered Gaara a ride home but he refused saying they should return to Konoha and check on Sasuke and have any injuries they may have received taken care of.

They thanked him and left as quickly as possible. Neji and the other's followed in his car, Naruto rode with Sakura to talk her and calm her down. He wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but he himself doubted the words he said.

**A/N Ok that's finished. Just to let you guys know, Let Me In is coming closer to the end, only a few more chapters and it will be complete.**


	19. A Mother's Touch

Chapter 19: A Mother's Touch

~The heart of a mother is patient and warm  
Cause God gives her kindness  
A tender voice through the storm  
She cradles and nurtures like a touch from above  
Her spirit brings comfort  
The gentle touch of a mother's love~

Recap:

_They thanked him and left as quickly as possible. Neji and the others followed in his car, Naruto rode with Sakura to talk her and calm her down. He wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but he himself doubted the words he said._

Sakura anxiously sat in the waiting room of Konoha's hospital. She had been pacing earlier but she was forced to sit down by her mother who tried to assure her that Sasuke would be fine. It had been about an hour ago, if not more, when Sasuke went in for surgery. Apparently the knife that Fugaku had stabbed him with, broke off inside his abdomen. The surgeons wanted to operate immediately, the broken piece could rupture something if they weren't quick enough.

Here they were, waiting desperately for the doctors to come out. The one in charge of him, was Shizune's colleague Tsunade, she was supposedly the best doctor at the hospital and they were glad she decided to care to Sasuke. But they just wished she would hurry up and get out here and tell them what the hell was going on.

Each of them had bandages somewhere on their body, whether it be their face, arms, or one of their other body parts.

They were all seated, either on the floor or in a chair but Naruto was leaning against the wall near the seat Sakura sat in, he had his arms crossed as he looked at the ground. He was freaking out inside just as bad as his pink-haired friend, but he was silent. He wanted to keep a cool head for Sakura's sake, but it was becoming harder with each second that passed and he just finally snapped.

"Damn it, how much longer is it going to take?!"

"Naruto!" Ino scolded.

"Well, they've been in there for hours, I just want to know what the hell-"

He stopped suddenly when the door of the operating room opened up. Tsunade walked out with a look on her face none of them would have expected to see. They all stood from their spots and turned to her. She looked up before she decided to speak, but she was attacked with questions.

"How is he?"

"Is he okay?"

"What's going on?"

"Enough." She turned serious. "Look you guys, Sasuke's condition is severe, the knife did puncture one of his organs, and now he's bleeding internally, and we have no way to stop it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't have much time."

Sakura's heart seemed to stop when she heard this. Naruto's shoulders slumped as he slid down the wall into a sitting position, his mouth slightly gaped in shock. Keiji and Mana looked to their daughter, she was shaking and her breathing became heavy. Keiji looked at Tsunade and walked over to her.

"There has to be something you can do."

"I'm sorry, but as I was told he had fallen down the stairs and that only added more to the punctured organ after the knife broke off."

"But what-"

"Mr. Haruno, there isn't anything I can do, I've done everything I can, but nothing is working. The most you can do now is to go be by his side."

"Is he awake?"

"I'm afraid not. Sasuke will most likely pass on in his sleep." Tsunade looked away before glancing at him again. "He's been moved to a private room, I'll take you there."

Keiji looked to the ground and nodded, he turned and walked over to Sakura and pulled her up from the chair. Once Mana had pulled Naruto from the ground they followed Tsunade into the room.

As they walked in, each of them turned away with a different expression on their face. Sasuke was lying on the hospital bed, his chest was exposed revealing the bandage around his abdomen. He also had a cast around his wrist, he mostly likely either sprained it or broke it when he fell down the stairs. An oxygen mask was set on his face, while the heart monitor beeped slowly by his bed side.

A bandage wrapped around his head to stop the bleeding that came from his temple. Another result from falling down the stairs. Sakura walked over to his side and grabbed his hand, Keiji pulled over a chair for her and set her down on it. He stood behind her and rested his hands on her shoulder, rubbing them lightly to comfort her since she started crying.

"There's a chance he might not make it through the night, so you guys are welcome to stay during the time he's here."

Tsunade left the room without another word, they needed time alone with Sasuke now more than ever. Keiji gave a frustrated sigh as he clenched his teeth.

"This is all my fault."

"Dad its not your fault."

"Yes it is, if I had seen that Zaku kid coming at me, I could have dodged him and prevented Fugaku from going after Sasuke." Keiji let his hands drop from Sakura's shoulders as he walked to the other side of Sasuke's bed. "I just hope he doesn't hate me for putting him in this position."

"He wouldn't hate you Mr. Haruno. Sasuke would be thankful to you, you've helped him and took charge when it seemed hopeless for him."

Naruto smiled slightly at the older man as he returned it, before it was wiped from their mouths by the beeping of the monitor. It had sped up slightly which caused them to worry, but it returned to its normal pace much to their relief.

"I just can't believe it." Naruto stated as he sat down onto the floor not caring if everyone gave him a weird look for doing so. "I mean, Sasuke never gave up so easily on anything, and now, his whole life is about to be taken away because of his damn father. Why does he have to give up now?"

"Naruto." Mana turned her attention to him. "Its not like Sasuke has a choice. He's probably fighting as hard as he can to stay with us, its the most likely the reason that heart monitor is still going, but...his body is failing on him."

"I know. But he never knew how to fail. Even when his dad did all of that stuff to him, he still carried a little hope, waiting for someone to step in, and once we did, his hope grew and helped him stay alive through all of the pain and suffering." Naruto looked up to the bed. "Do you think he can hear me?"

"I'm sure he can."

Naruto stood up from his position on the floor and walked over to Sasuke's side, Keiji stepped out of his way to allow him to get closer.

"Sasuke." Naruto began as tears came to his eyes. "...We've been best friends for years, and when you suddenly stopped talking to me, it really hurt and I started to hate you for putting me through that pain. I tried so many times to get you to talk but you only gave me the cold shoulder and I didn't know why. But I didn't know the physical and emotional pain you were going through with your dad. I felt like a selfish brat for only thinking of myself." Naruto wiped his eyes as Keiji set his hand on his shoulder silently telling him it would be okay. "I don't hate you Sasuke, I never really did, I only fooled myself into thinking that way. We've been through so much and you've become like a brother to me. Just please don't give up, we really want you to stay with us."

Sakura let a few tears fall from her eyes at what he said. Naruto walked and took his place back on the floor. Hinata strolled over to him and knelt down, she boldly grabbed his hand and held it in hers as she gave a small smile to him, which he returned.

Hours passed, Sasuke's heart rate kept fluctuating between slow and fast. Tsunade said there wasn't much she could do, all they could do was wait.

All of the inhabitants of the room had soon been overcome by sleep. Keiji and Mana had fallen asleep on a couch-like piece of furniture near the window, Mana had her head resting on her husbands shoulder. Keiji had his head on the wall behind him, his hand was clutched in his wife's with a loose grip.

Ino was on the ground, leaning against the small ledge by the window, Shikamaru had his head in her lap with his hands resting on his stomach. Neji and Tenten were near the door, Neji having his back pressed against the wall with Tenten leaning against his shoulder while his head was on top of her head as if he would smell her and Hinata were at the foot of Sasuke's bed, Naruto rested his back against the bed's leg with Hinata laying her head in the crook of his neck.

Each of them had blankets over them courtesy of the nurses that had brought them after they had fallen asleep. It got cold at night in the hospital sometimes, so they would need something to keep them warm through the night.

Sakura on the other hand kept drifting in and out of sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, she heard the heart monitor go faster, but when she opened her eyes it was normal. She kept thinking the monitor was speeding up, when in reality it wasn't. She forgot about sleeping and sat against the bed with her elbows holding her steady while her hands rested under her chin.

"I'm sorry." She whispered so she wouldn't wake any of the sleeping occupants. "I'm sorry I didn't get you some help sooner. I'm sorry I went to Suna and put your life in danger. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

More tears came to her eyes as she pressed her face into her hands, trying to make herself believe he was going to be okay. But what Tsunade said, it gave her doubts, but there still that spark of hope that lingered in her subconscious. She prayed silently to herself, pleading for whatever power out there, would save his life.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed which went unnoticed by Sakura. To people that would see his unconscious form, it seemed as if he were dreaming which in reality he technically was.

Sasuke rushed down a hallway, everything was dark, there were no lights on anywhere. He didn't like this surrounding, it felt a little ominous and way too familiar. Not really a feeling he wanted again in his life.

_'Where am I?'_

He looked frantically around his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was. But as soon as he heard that loud booming voice, his blood ran cold. He turned around to see his dad charging angrily at him. He tried to run, but his legs wouldn't move. A punch landed on his face and he fell back onto the floor. He put his arms up to brace himself for the incoming blows, but everything stopped when he heard the voice of someone, someone he missed very much.

"Sasuke, snap out of sweetie, its only a dream. Its not real."

"Mom?" He asked unsure.

A woman, dressed in an all white dress that went to just below her knees, appeared before him as his surroundings became nothing but white empty space. Before him was the woman with long dark hair who shared his eye color. Sasuke's eyes widened upon seeing her as he felt tears sting at his eyes. She walked forward and placed her hands on his shoulders before pulling him into an embrace.

He returned it, but just as quickly as the hug came she pulled away to look him in the eyes. She smiled warmly at him and removed her hands from his shoulders.

"Mom, is it really you?."

"Yes it is me."

She smiled at him again with the smile that he missed so much. A smile he wished he could have seen everyday he went through those beatings from his dad. He hadn't, but waiting for this smile from her was worth the wait.

"Its okay sweetie, your father can't hurt you anymore."

"Where am I?"

"You're on borderline between life and death. Your body is slowly giving in."

"So that's why you're here?" He stated as a question.

"Yes, but its not yet your time."

"What can I do? I've tried forcing myself to wake up, but each time I feel that pain, I back away, I felt like I was slipping away."

"Technically you were sweetheart." She said as she hugged him again.

"I miss your hugs mom. I miss you and Itachi, dad he just hates me he blames me for what happened and so do I, and to make it worse I'm dying because of him."

"Don't talk like that Sasuke. And I've missed you too, so has Itachi. I'm not going to let you die, there are people that would be heart-broken if you did."

"You don't know how many times I wished I was dead after those beatings mom."

"I know honey, but you can't run away from it like that, believe it or not people need you, just like you need them."

"What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't fight this pain I feel."

"Yes you can and that's why I'm sending you back."

"What ho-?" He didn't finish his question when his mom touched his abdomen with her fingertip.

He felt something warm enter his body and before he knew it everything was going black. He was losing his sight again, it was blurring rapidly and he tried to fight it before he heard his mother tell him to give in to it, he obeyed what she said.

"Your brother and I were never angry with you. Its not your fault Sasuke, and you know it isn't. You'll be very well taken care of. I love you." That was all he heard before her voice faded away, which made him want it to return.

He shot up from his bed breathing heavily as he felt excruciating pain in his abdomen, causing him to clench his teeth down to fight the pain off. He looked down to see the bandage wrapped around him, it was stained with blood but it wasn't as much as he thought it would have been. He reached up to touch his face and felt the mask that was placed on it.

_'How badly was I injured?'_ He thought to himself as he realized the hand he touched the mask with had a thin cast around it._ 'So that's why it hurts.'_

Looking around he spotted Sakura, she had fallen asleep with her hand settled around his in a loose hold. His eyes softened as he saw the tears that stained her face, he immediately felt regret in his stomach, he had her worried again. When he glanced around the room again he spotted Naruto and he gave a small smile to his blond-haired best friend.

_'I heard what you said Naruto and you're not a selfish brat.'_

He heard the door to the room open and a blond haired female walked inside but stopped suddenly upon seeing him awake. Her eyes widened slightly in disbelief and gave a sigh of relief. She walked over to him and checked over his vitals and his wound. Sasuke stared at her as she ran a small test and called for a nurse, she received the results a few minutes later after the nurse returned with them.

"I don't believe this. Its a miracle. Your internal bleeding as stopped. I don't understand how."

Sasuke only smiled inwardly._ 'Thanks mom.'_

"Well I'm Tsuande, your doctor." She spoke softly. "You know you put them through hell."

"I know I did. I'm amazed I'm awake at all."

"Do you want to wake them up?"

"No, wait until morning. They've been working their asses of trying to help me, they deserve some sleep."

Tsunade nodded. "You need sleep as well, that wound on your stomach isn't going to heal alone."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank them when they wake up. If they hadn't gotten you the medical attention you needed, you could have died."

"I really owe them big time."

"You can figure that out later. Right now, get some rest. You're gonna be receiving hugs galore come sunrise."

"Yeah don't remind me."

He laid back down and closed his eyes, he sighed with content as Tsunade left the room. Everything might actually be okay. He was going to make it, and it was all thanks to her. He opened his eyes to stare at Sakura, she looked upset even as she slept. Sitting up, he pulled her gently onto the bed, careful not to wake her.

Settling her against him he rested her head in the crook of his neck as she subconsciously draped her arm over his chest just above the wound on his stomach. He fell asleep peacefully that night, not thinking of anything except finally letting the guilt, he felt about his brother and mother's death, go. Much more at peace now, he knew he would be alright, he was positive he would be.

The next morning, Sakura slowly opened her eyes when she felt someone shaking her shoulder. She turned to the source to see Tsunade staring at her with a small smirk on her face and briefly wondered why?

"How did you get there?"

Sakura took notice of what she meant and sat up on the bed Sasuke was laying on. How did she get there? Now she was confused. She turned to Tsuande and gave a suspicious look to the woman standing before her.

"I must have crawled up here during the night."

"Oh I doubt that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She was too busy arguing with the doctor that she hadn't noticed when the person next to her shifted and sat up. He pulled the oxygen mask off his face and turned to her. Tsuande glanced quickly at him as he smirked, before he grabbed Sakura's chin and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"You talk way too much." Then he kissed her on the lips as her eyes widened.

As soon as he parted from her, her eyes watered before she completely yelled out his named with sudden relief and hugged him tightly causing him to flinch from the sudden pain he felt from the pressure she put on his wound.

"SASUKE!"

Her yell shook everyone from their sleep and they all jumped to their feet as quickly as they could thinking something had happened with Sasuke. They were shocked but smiles took the place on their faces as they raced to his bed side, most of them giving hugs and handshakes from the guys except Naruto and Keiji who had hugged him anyway.

_'Damn, too much attention.'_

But truthfully he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Next Time:**

Chapter 20: Trial

"You're a worthless piece of garbage Sasuke, you better hope I never get out!"

Sasuke watched as the policemen dragged Fugaku out of the court room. Which they had trouble with since he was putting up a tough struggle with the authorities. Sasuke merely looked away as Mana hugged him and assured him that he would be safe. The judge turned to Sasuke.

"Now the matter is what do we do with you. You're still underage to choose where you want to go or to live one your own. So we'll have to send you to a foster home. And I will schedule a couple of sessions with a psychologist to help with the traumatic events you've been through."

"What?!" Sasuke protested, "I don't want to live in a foster home, I'm sure as hell not going to talk to a psychologist."

"I'm afraid with you being underage and not having a legal guardian to take care of you. You don't have a choice, I'm sorry its the law." The judge gestured for the guards to lead him out, but he just clenched his fists and dodged them before running out of the courthouse, Sakura, Mana and Keiji called for him but he was already gone.

**A/N Another down, a few more to go. I'm working with some different ideas to make it go on longer, but its still nearing the end. I will try to update One Night either tomorrow or Friday along with Ignored Love.**


	20. Trial

Chapter 20: Trial

~There seemed no way to make up  
'Cos it seemed your mind was set  
And the way you looked it told me  
It's a look I know I'll never forget~

Recap:

_Her yell shook everyone from their sleep and they all jumped to their feet as quickly as they could thinking something had happened with Sasuke. They were shocked but smiles took the place on their faces as they raced to his bed side, most of them giving hugs and handshakes from the guys except Naruto and Keiji who had hugged him anyway._

_'Damn, too much attention.'_

_But truthfully he wouldn't have it any other way._

Sasuke was getting dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black shirt, its been three days since he got out of the hospital and now there was a problem to face. Fugaku was going to court and he had to be there to testify against his dad. Keiji had gotten his lawyer to come and represent Sasuke during the duration of the trial. Sasuke was nervous, what would happen to him now that Fugaku had gotten caught?

He grabbed his jacket after he put on his shoes, the wound on his abdomen was still not healed, it would take quite a few days before he could go back to his usual self and not have to worry about putting strain on his wound. He sighed and slipped his arms through the sleeves of his jacket, the light gray cast on his wrist had several signatures written on it in black marker much to his protest. His friends were excited that he was alive and well they wanted to sign his cast just for kicks.

Though one signature stood out to him the most, and that was from Sakura, she had written 'I love you babe' with her name signed at the end of it. Every time he looked at it, it made him smile.

"Sasuke." Keiji came up to the room. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Sasuke replied. "I really don't want to do this."

"You know you have to, if you don't press the charges they'll just let him go and he'll come after you." Sasuke knew Keiji was right, there was just the matter of putting his nerves to rest. "Don't worry, we'll be there for you all the way." Keiji placed his hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze to reassure him.

"I know, let's just get this over with."

They arrived at the courthouse, Naruto and the rest waited outside the courthouse, sitting on the steps, since they weren't allowed inside, only the immediate family that was involved attended the trial. Once they had gotten seated inside the trial began, Fugaku was brought out and forced to sit in his seat with a policeman standing by his side.

Sasuke gave one glance to his father and the older man gave a hateful glare causing Sasuke to flinch and redirect his gaze elsewhere. This was going to be a long trial he knew that for sure, there was no telling what lies Fugaku would tell to get out of the charges placed against him. Keiji sat next to Sasuke, he would be the guardian to help him out since he didn't have a legal guardian of his own.

The judge was a bit reluctant but given the circumstances she had agreed.

It was about twenty minutes into the trial when the lawyer representing his dad said something Sasuke wished he would never have said.

"I call Sasuke Uchiha to the stand."

Sasuke froze and hesitated, it was now or never. He would have his chance to defend himself and maybe, just maybe, he would finally be able to put this nightmare behind him and have his father sent to prison. He deserved to get sent away, after all that he has done, the jury surely wouldn't let him go after what he was about to say.

One hour later at the end of the trial the lawyer speaking on Sasuke's behalf gave his closing statement. The jury talked amongst themselves and left to decide the final decision. Sasuke held his hands together to try and keep them from shaking, his lawyer had given a great deal of evidence against Fugaku and a speech along with it.

The members of the jury had returned and took their seats, the one chosen to reveal the decision stood from his chair. The judge looked to him and her eyes looked at him questioningly before she decided to ask the question.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor, given the evidence and words spoken by Sasuke we find Fugaku Uchiha...guilty of child abuse, attempted murder and kidnapping."

"Fugaku Uchiha I sentenced you to ten years in prison, only good behavior and psychiatric care will give you a chance of parole." She slammed down her gavel and ended all discussion and arguments, the decision was final.

Sasuke let out a breath of relief and stood as Sakura, Mana and Keiji came over to him and hugged him tightly in their arms. They had won their case, a yell caused them to break from their embrace and turn to the source.

"You're a worthless piece of garbage Sasuke, you better hope I never get out!"

Sasuke watched as the policemen dragged Fugaku out of the court room. Which they had trouble with since he was putting up a tough struggle with the authorities. Sasuke merely looked away as Mana hugged him and assured him that he would be safe. The judge turned to Sasuke.

"Now the matter is what do we do with you. You're still underage to choose where you want to go or to live one your own. So we'll have to send you to a foster home a couple of hours away from here. And I will schedule a couple of sessions with a psychologist to help with the traumatic events you've been through."

"What?!" Sasuke protested, "I don't want to live in a foster home, and I'm sure as hell not going to talk to a psychologist."

"I'm afraid with you being underage and not having a legal guardian to take care of you. You don't have a choice, I'm sorry its the law." The judge gestured for the guards to lead him out, but he just clenched his fists and dodged them before running out of the courthouse, Sakura, Mana and Keiji called for him but he was already gone.

They chased after him as he ran from the building, Sasuke passed Naruto and the rest as they jumped to their feet upon seeing him running from the courthouse. His actions shocked them and they wondered what the hell was going on.

"Sasuke." Naruto yelled but the raven-haired male ran down the streets ignoring the calls of his best friend.

Once Mana and Keiji had come out with Sakura following behind them they turned to the adults their face showing confusion.

"What happened? Did they let Fugaku off the hook? I'm going to fucking knock the shit out of them." Naruto growled angrily.

"Naruto stop." Keiji began. "Fugaku is being sent to prison, but they want to send Sasuke to a foster home in another city."

"What?!" Naruto asked with disbelief.

"They also want him to see a psychologist." Mana added once her husband had finished talking.

"Oh man." Naruto said with surprise.

Sasuke ran back to the house that he stayed in with Sakura and her parents, he brought out the spare key they had given to him and he unlocked the door. All of his belongings had been moved into their house during his stay in the hospital, now he was going to runaway, it wouldn't be for very long just until his birthday comes along and he turns eighteen, of course that was quite a few months away.

He didn't want some stranger he didn't know poking around his personal life. Hopefully Sakura would understand, now he felt selfish about leaving her to take care of himself, but either way he would end up having to leave her.

It was passed six in the evening when Sasuke sat on the bus that would take him away from this city. A black duffel bag sat on his seat next to him, he had his arm resting on top of the bag. The bus stopped to pick up another passenger before setting off to the last two stops before it would leave the city.

Sasuke looked up to the man and his eyes widened when he saw it was Kakashi. Kakashi shared the same expression on his face and made his way to sit next to him.

"Sasuke, what's been going on with you and Sakura? You guys haven't been in school for awhile now and even your friends missed school on Friday."

"Its nothing Kakashi." Sasuke responded to his question.

"You've been in my music class every year in high school, I know when you're lying." Kakashi looked to him. "Tell me what's going on."

Sasuke hesitated, he trusted Kakashi more than a police officer or therapist.

"Do you remember all the times I came into your class with bruises, black eyes and a busted lip?"

"Yeah, Daisuke did it right?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Kakashi you knew my family pretty well before the accident, but after that you didn't know what was going on."

"What are you getting at?"

"Daisuke didn't give me all of those bruises, my father did."

Kakashi's eyes widened and stared at the teen in front of him. What the hell had been happening to him that he never even noticed? How could he have not caught on to it?

"Sasuke are you serious?"

After he nodded he continued speaking. "My dad forced me to move to Suna, that's why I stopped showing up for school."

"What about Sakura?"

"She came after me, attempting to bring me back and get me away from my dad." He paused before continuing. "Naruto and the others came a little while after that to help too when Sakura's parents were already on the way."

"And?" Kakashi urged Sasuke to continue his story. "Did you get this taken care of?"

"Yeah, but only after my dad nearly killed me, I was in the hospital for four days, day one being when I first got there and then three additional days after I had woken up."

"Where's Fugaku now?"

"We went to court today, and he was convicted and sent to prison for ten years, with chances of parole on certain conditions."

"What conditions?"

"Good behavior and psychiatric care. The judge wants to send me to a foster home in another city and send me to a psychologist."

"I see."

"I wouldn't talk to anyone I knew since we were little, why the hell would I talk to a total stranger that knows nothing about me?"

"Sasuke, they only want what's best for you." Kakashi tried to reason with him.

"Best for me? Taking me away from people that I actually trust and sending me to some family that I don't know is supposed to be best for me?"

Kakashi managed to grasp what he was saying and his eyes softened. "What are you planning to do? Runaway?"

"There's nothing else I can do. I'm a minor and I don't have a legal guardian so they have to make the decisions for me." Sasuke's face turned to one of sadness. "I don't want to leave, but either way I go it'll have the same result."

"What result?"

"Ending up having to leave."

"Sasuke listen, I'm not your father and I can't tell you what to do. But you can't runaway from your problems like this." The bus stopped and Kakashi stood to get off, he's home was just down the road. "Think about it, there has to be a way, there's only one other stop before this bus leaves on a nonstop trip, it's your choice."

The silver-haired male stepped off the bus and watched it leave, he had thoughts running through his head and he suddenly took off running to the courthouse.

Sasuke pondered what his teacher said, he was right, he shouldn't be running away from his problems but he was afraid of being forced into something that he didn't want to do. The last stop came, and three people boarded it, while two got off. It was his time to make a choice and he made it.

Kakashi stood outside the building of the courthouse, the lights were on in an office window. He opened the doors and found them unlocked, much to his surprise, and headed down the hallway looking for the office door that would let him speak with the person that was here. He managed to find the office and he spotted an older woman sitting at a desk.

"Excuse me." Kakashi interrupted her.

The woman jumped and glanced up. "You shouldn't be in here."

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be, but are you the judge that handled a child abuse case today."

"Yes, why is that any of your concern?"

"Because I know the kid that you dealt with and I don't think you should be sending him to a foster home."

"I'm sorry sir, but Sasuke Uchiha must be sent to a home, I don't think the family that was here with him would want to adopt him seeing as how their daughter and him have a relationship."

"I know that. But taking him away from people that he knows and trusts and throwing him into a home where he doesn't know anyone will only make things worse."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I have a proposition to make."

She set down her pen and offered him a seat as they discussed his proposal to her. She nodded in agreement to what he was saying, her face showed signs of approval of what he was suggesting and she asked him questions regarding the suggestion.

"I can't find him anywhere," Sakura stated as she sat down on the couch, "He won't answer his cell phone either."

"Damn it." Keiji cursed as Naruto muttered curses to himself.

"Now what?" Neji asked no one in particular.

The door bell rang and Keiji stood to answer it, as Sakura and the others tried to figure out where Sasuke would go. Keiji returned with someone they hadn't expected to see.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with surprise.

"Hi, is Sasuke here?"

"No he's not."

"Damn it, I knew I should have stopped him."

"What are you talking about?" Mana asked curiously.

"I ran into Sasuke on the bus, he was running away."

"He told you he was running and you didn't stop him!" Sakura's voice grew loud.

"Sakura that's enough!" Her father scolded her.

"I tried talking him out of it." Kakashi sighed. "I guess I went through all of that trouble for nothing."

"What trouble?" Naruto questioned.

"I went to talk to the judge that handled Sasuke's case, and since he didn't have a legal guardian to stay here I figured I would adopt him so he could stay here in this city."

"Are you serious?" Sakura sat up.

"Yeah, but seeing as how he left I-" He stopped mid-sentence when the front door opened.

All of them looked to the door and saw Sasuke walk in and a wave of relief washed over them. Sasuke paused and set the bag he had on the floor near the door as he looked to the group in the living room. "Um hi?"

"You idiot!" Sakura yelled and ran over to him and embraced him into a hug.

"Ow ow ow." Sasuke muttered and Sakura let go of his embrace and apologized continuously.

"I thought you were leaving?" Kakashi inquired.

"I thought about what you said and you're right, if I end up going to a foster home it's probably for the best." Sasuke explained but his voice held a hint of sadness to it.

"That may not be true anymore." Keiji said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked with confusion.

"I talked to the judge that dealt with your case, and if you want to, I'll adopt you as my son and you can stay in this city instead of a different one." Kakashi explained to him. "That is, if you want."

Sasuke froze at what he said, he didn't expect this from him and he looked to the floor before glancing up again. His eyes held unshed tears before asking, "Why would you do this for me?"

Kakashi only smiled through the mask on his face. "I can't stand to see one of my favorite students get sent away and be forced into something he doesn't want. And if you don't care that I have no experience with being a parent, I'm a bit of a goofball sometimes, and you'll have a teacher as your guardian then I'd like for you to come stay with me."

It all seemed quiet as Kakashi stepped forward and stood in front of Sasuke. "Well what do you say?"

To his surprise and everyone else, Sasuke let the tears he held back fall, Kakashi hesitated at first before resting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. Sakura smiled at the sight, it was a happy moment but still held some hints of melancholy to it. Sasuke had a second chance at a family, and she knew this time it would work out.

**A/N Ah, that's done, sorry again for the late ass update, I tried to make it where it wouldn't suck but...I don't think I made that goal.**

**Anyway, I have been playing with ideas, but fitting them into the story at this point might just be a bad idea, so either the next chapter will be the last, if not Chapter 22 will be the final one, but we'll see how what happens.**


	21. Finally

Chapter 21: Finally

~Sing a song with me  
Hush the quiet scream inside  
See the world through different eyes  
Hear no more the sound of lies~

Recap:

_To his surprise and everyone else, Sasuke let the tears he held back fall, Kakashi hesitated at first before resting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. Sakura smiled at the sight, it was a happy moment but still held some hints of melancholy to it. Sasuke had a second chance at a family, and she knew this time it would work out._

Sasuke and the gang returned to school after what seemed like forever. Sasuke had moved in with Kakashi and things were working out very well with them. The silver-haired male turned out to be a good parental figure, and to Sasuke it was still weird to refer to him as dad, but he would get used to it over time and eventually it would happen, it was just a matter of waiting.

Sasori had managed to get a hold of them and he nearly went ballistic after hearing of everything that happened. If Fugaku hadn't already been sent to prison he would have gone and beat the shit out of him. But he was just glad that Sasuke was ok, not a lot kids that had similar issues like Sasuke had friends to pull them through it.

Sasuke still had a job waiting for him with Sasori, if he still wanted it that is, but he knew he would take it, there was no way Sasori was going to let him leave the job and not come back, he was a good worker and still is a good worker. Though that could be said differently by the man Sasuke was supposed to work for back in Suna, he never showed up for the first day, but that wasn't his fault.

Sakura intertwined her hand with Sasuke's which made him smile at her as they entered their music class. Sasuke held a guitar case in his other hand for the class, he knew what he and Sakura would be doing. His new guardian had told him last night they would have to present their song, that grade still needed to be recorded in order for him to pass this year.

And he wasn't going to fail and he was sure Kakashi wouldn't allow that to happen either, whether or not he had to home school him. Sasuke sighed at the thought of having to do this project, but at least he had Sakura there to help him out with this. She was always there to help him out.

Kakashi smiled upon their arrival which caused Sasuke to blush. Kakashi had talked to him before about Sakura, and the way he teased embarrassed him. Kakashi may have said he no experience with being a parent, he sure had the embarrass the shit out of the teen part down, there was no denying that.

Karin stared with her mouth open with shock before stating. "You're dating that ugly bitch."

Sakura turned to retort but Sasuke beat her to it. "You know Karin, you have a big mouth, why not go look in a mirror and tell me who the real ugly bitch is?"

She didn't have anything to say to that as she turned silent. Sasuke smirked and pulled Sakura to their seats, she giggled at what he said and when they stopped she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a little at her public display of affection, but he had come to like it, even if it made him blush every now and again, depending on who she did it in front of.

"Thank you Sasuke."

He smiled as Kakashi told the class to sit which they obeyed without any protest. Last time they ignored what he said, he gave them several different assignments to work on over the weekends. "Now, because of two students being absent, they will need to present their song today."

Kakashi turned his head to the couple. "Sasuke, Sakura, would you come up here please."

They nodded as Sasuke opened the case and and pulled out the black acoustic guitar. It was a new one he bought just yesterday for this project. Sakura led the way up to the small stage as Kakashi went to lean against the window sill. Sasuke sat down on the stool with Sakura next to him on the other one.

"Whenever you're ready." Kakashi said.

With a soft sigh, Sasuke strummed the cords of his guitar letting his fingers glide swiftly over each string to produce the music they had worked on as Sakura prepared to sing. Her voice filled the room with lyrics that Sasuke had worked on, before she had stepped in and made a few changes.

_You told me  
You couldn't  
Take this pain anymore_

_I told you  
To believe  
That I'll be what you need_

_I said I would help you  
Pull through the pain  
I said I would save you  
When you stood alone in the rain_

_If you dropped your guard  
Would I know?  
Or just let you crash alone  
When I said I loved you  
You just turned away  
I called you  
But you said you lost your way_

Sasuke sang the next set of lyrics as he continued to strum the cords.

_I felt your heart beating  
In rhythm with mine  
The feeling was new  
Did it get out of line?  
Never have I felt this before  
You pulled me up  
When I fell to the floor_

Their voices came out together to sing in unison. They sang well together, which is what each of the students in the class thought, and even Karin even if she hated to admit it.

_If you dropped your guard  
Would I know?  
Or just let you crash alone  
When I said I loved you  
You just turned away  
I called you  
But you said you lost your way_

Sakura paused in her singing to let Sasuke sing the next part on his own. Some parts of the song were for him, mostly because of what the lyrics stated.

_You were all that I needed  
To keep me alive  
I couldn't say the words  
When forced to say goodbye  
I heard you scream out loud  
But I was lost inside the crowd  
_

When he finished, he looked to Sakura as she sang solo once again.

_If you dropped your guard  
Would I know?  
Or just let you crash alone  
When I said I loved you  
You just turned away  
I called you  
But you said you lost your way_

Both of them finished the last of the lyrics, their voices melted together slowly letting the song die off.

_When I said I loved you  
I only turned away  
But I'm here with you now  
And I'm here to stay  
Our love was always there  
Growing ever so slow  
It was our ending  
And we never let it go_

Kakashi stared proudly at his student and newly adopted son, he smiled beneath the mask he wore on his face. Each of them had their own unique way of bringing their feelings into the song, the way they worked together and sang in sync with each other truly brought out the meaning of the lyrics.

The class immediately applauded and Karin slid down in her seat with her arms crossed. She was pissed that she hadn't gotten the chance she wanted with Sasuke, and she was even more furious that Sakura had gotten to sing with him and she didn't.

'This is so unfair.' She thought.

Sasuke and Sakura returned to their seats, Sakura had turned her desk around to talk to him for the rest of the class since Kakashi didn't have anything else planned for the class, so he let them have the rest of the class as a free period. There was always tomorrow to load them up with homework, but he had a feeling Sasuke would more than likely try and talk him out of it.

He headed over to the couple and leaned against an empty desk that was next to theirs. They only looked up to him before he shook his head with amusement. He knew he shouldn't say what he was thinking but he just couldn't help it, it was sitting in the back of his throat and he just could not resist.

"Don't forget what I said Sasuke." Kakashi chuckled.

"Shut up!" Sasuke turned red instantly and looked down to his desk.

"What?" Sakura asked with confusion.

"No need to worry about it, we just had a man to man talk last night." Kakashi assured her, but her facing turning red told him she knew what he was talking about.

"Kakashi!" She shouted with embarrassment and glared at him with her emerald eyes. Sasuke shared the same look on his face.

_'You'll pay Kakashi.'_ They thought at the same time.

He only gave a deep laugh and walked away before his students could say or do anything to him. But he knew Sasuke would try and get him back for this, the young boy had a very creative mind and there was no telling what would happen at his home the next few years ahead of them.

Sasuke and Sakura laid in the backyard of Sakura's home, the grass was cool beneath them, a result of the chilly night. Sasuke tugged his black jacket closer to his body as Sakura mimicked her actions with hers. They stared at the sky, just glancing at all of the stars that appeared in the night sky.

They wanted to be alone right now, all of their friends were going to see a movie tonight but they declined their offer without giving them a real reason as to why. But Sakura had a feeling that they knew the reason, and it was exactly why they weren't being bothered right now. The couple never really had a calm moment to spend together, the times they had spent with each other, were spent comforting, and running away from the dangers Fugaku had caused.

But now they were here together and they enjoyed this time alone they had, they didn't want to spoil it for anything. Just feeling the other person by their side, gave them all the comfort they needed. Sasuke sighed softly and glanced at each star as it were its own unique self and not just part of a whole. He noticed a star fall before burning out into nothing.

"You see that falling star?" Sasuke inquired as he pointed to the sky before putting his arm down to rest on his stomach.

"Yeah." Sakura said when she turned her head to face him after looking at the star that fell.

"I always believed that when a star falls, someone had died." He continued. "And when my brother and my mom died, I saw two stars fall from the sky, but there was a third that fell. That third one made me wonder if it was my father that died and then he just turned into the man that hated me."

"Well whatever it was, you don't have to worry about him anymore." Sakura smiled and moved herself so she could rest her head gently against his chest and wrap her arm around him, careful not to put pressure on the wound on his stomach. She didn't want to hurt him, he had been through that enough.

"I know that babe." He expressed some inner thoughts before voicing it out. "There's something I want to do."

"What is that?" Sakura curiously wondered as he moved his hand, that was wrapped in the cast, to rest against her back.

"I want to go visit my mom and brother's graves. I haven't gone to the graveyard in awhile and I think its time I did." Sasuke told her with all honesty. "But I was wondering, would you want to go with me?"

"Of course I will."

"Thank you Sakura."

"I would have gone whether you asked me or not." She giggled quietly.

"No, not just for that. But for everything you did for me." He looked down to her with a serious look as she returned his gaze. "I'm glad that you pushed yourself into my life."

She smiled and sat up before bringing her face down to his. His eyes expressed the same loving look that hers did and that made her smile. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, he returned it with the same need and licked her lip, silently asking for permission, she didn't hesitate before she opened her mouth to allow him entry.

Their tongues danced together and they didn't want to part from the kiss but they had to, they were humans just like everyone else, and just like everyone else they needed oxygen to breathe. When they parted, they stared into each other's eyes.

Sakura bit her lip as a smiled lingered on her face. And then he said something she hadn't heard him say in awhile. "I love you Sakura."

"I love you too Sasuke." She crashed her lips to his again, not caring if someone would catch them.

She loved him, just as he loved her, even if they got caught making out then so be it because there was nothing more blissful than this. His kisses were amazing to her, and she knew he wasn't going to leave her, just like she was never going to leave him.

Kakashi shut the door to Sasuke's room where the boy was currently sleeping soundly, he made it his job to check on the boy every night before he himself went to sleep. He just wanted to make sure he was okay' after everything he went through, there was no telling what could happen during the night.

But that thought came back to him when he suddenly heard Sasuke yell, his eyes widened and he turned on his heel and burst through the door. He spotted Sasuke in a fitful sleep, he was having a nightmare from the looks of it and he rushed to his side.

"Sasuke." Kakashi shook his shoulder trying to break the dream and bring Sasuke back to reality.

"No!" Sasuke shot up from his bed and nearly punched Kakashi, whom Sasuke thought was Fugaku. But the older man caught Sasuke's wrist before it made contact with his body.

"Sasuke." He stated calmly. "It's okay. You're okay. You're not in any danger."

Sasuke was breathing heavily as sweat glistened on his face, he stared at Kakashi as the silver-haired male let his wrist go. Sasuke looked down and ran his hands down his face to wipe the sweat that formed on his skin. His hands were shaking slightly and he tried to calm himself down by taking a deep breath.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kakashi asked.

"I'd rather not, at least not now."

"I don't want you to feel like you have to keep things from me Sasuke." He said to try and ease the boy's nerves.

"I know..." Sasuke stopped before Kakashi urged him to continue. "Its just, I don't like to talk about it, what I dream of isn't like everyone else's nightmares."

"Was it about Fugaku?" Kakashi guessed.

"Yeah," He replied before adding, "I dream that I'm still stuck in that house with him and the beatings only grow worse. I actually feel like a piece of me dies when I dream about it."

"I'll help you through this, I do consider you my son Sasuke, and I won't ever be like your father was." He looked at the teen before him. "I won't hurt you."

"I know that. You gave me a second chance. A second chance that I thought I would never get...thanks...dad." Sasuke looked down as his face turned red from embarrassment, he has never called Kakashi that yet and it sort of embarrassed him when he did.

Kakashi only chuckled before reaching his hand to ruffle the boy's hair. "Get some sleep Sasuke. Tomorrow is a new day and just another day closer to healing."

**A/N Alright, this is the last chapter, well, its not the last last, because the short epilogue is after this, but this story is done to say the least, I thank everyone that read, reviewed, added to their favorite and alert lists. Don't worry, I have more stories, give them a chance, who knows there might be another that will catch your eye like Let Me In had. ;)**


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

~This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment  
As I look around  
I can't believe the love I see  
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubts  
That was then, this is my now~

_I guess every family will have their problems, even if I was worse off living in an abusive home. Most kids complain their parents never let them do anything, but I never complained, not when I was beaten every night, and not when I was sore from the bruises those hits left. I always thought that my pain was too deep to take away, but one girl changed that. If it wasn't for her, there's no telling where I would be right now._

_I could be laying in a gutter somewhere, I could be homeless, I could have even killed myself because I believed there was no hope for me. But when she walked into my life, she decided to change it and turn it around for me, even if I thought it was pointless. Sure there were doubts, and I'm still not sure how we pulled it off, but we managed with small steps.  
_

Sasuke looked up from his journal and stared at his friends who were making fun of Naruto since he had fallen into a puddle of mud. Even Gaara, Kankuro and Temari were here to visit. It was the end of the school year and they decided to have a party at Kakashi's place. The new parental figure was standing near Sakura's parents along with Sasori, the red-haired male had become Sasuke's unofficial older brother, that's what he had declared anyway.

Next year they would graduate and leave off on their own in the world. Sasuke smiled at Sakura, he wanted to stay by her side for as long as possible. She pulled him from the dark person he was before and he didn't know how to thank her enough for it. He didn't know how to thank all of them enough for what they did.

Making it through this time in his life was just a step into looking into a better future for him, his friends, and new found family. He made it through the biggest step of his life, and it was filled with the most pain, pain not many could have even imagined if they hadn't experienced it themselves and Sasuke thanked whatever God was out there that he was alive today. Naruto would always be his best friend, and he would be there to crack jokes and make everyone laugh even in the hardest times.

Sasuke only chuckled as he turned to the last page in the book he wrote, he titled it _Dark Secrets Of My Life_ he wanted to get it published, maybe it would help any other troubled teen out there, it could give them hope that even when things were bad, they would always work out in the end. Some may take longer than others, but things seem to find their way around to find a happy ending, even if it means going through all of the hard times, there is still that spark of hope.

_I believed it was my fault that my father beat me time and time again and nearly killed me. But he was just a sick headed man that lost it when my mother and brother passed away. I always felt isolated. I always thought my dad would snap out of it and things would go back to the way they used to be and he would become the father that I used to know. But they didn't get better, they only got a whole lot worse._

_The beatings became more violent, the hungry need to die became stronger and even the need to runaway became a strong desire. But whenever I thought of Sakura, those things just didn't seem to matter to me. What mattered was that I would live to see another day and maybe this pain and suffering would end._

_That one night with my father had been an emotionally and physically painful experience. Its only a faded memory now thanks to those that stepped in to aid me in this crisis. I was beaten, bounded down, forced to watch my father nearly kill the ones I care for. Then he injured me with a knife and I had fallen down the stairs, completely bruised and battered.  
_

_The last thing I remembered of that night was seeing the one I saw as a hero when I was just a small child, point a gun at me. I truly thought I died until I woke up in the hospital, I could swear I saw my mother during my unconscious state, and I think she was the one that saved me, even if I myself still have trouble believing it.  
_

_My friends were there when I almost died, they put themselves in harm's way to try to save and protect me even when I ignored them and shut them out, and that's when I realized...I was never really alone._

_Abuse is not something to be ignored, I learned that the hard way._

_My name is Sasuke Uchiha, and I survived this nightmare._

Sasuke closed the journal and turned it over before setting his pen on top of the leather surface and gave a soft sigh as a smile spread its way over his lips.

"Hey Sasuke." Naruto called him. "Get your ass over here for the group picture."

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He shouted, "Damn I never catch a break with you!"

_'Yes I indeed survived, and its something I won't take for granted.'_ Sasuke thought to himself before Naruto grabbed him in a headlock.

_'I have what I need right here.'_

_For all those times you stood by me  
For all the truth that you made me see  
For all the joy you brought to my life  
For all the wrong that you made right  
For every dream you made come true  
For all the love I found in you  
_

_I'll be forever thankful baby  
You're the one who held me up  
Never let me fall  
You're the one who saw me through it all  
_

_You were my strength when I was weak  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me  
_

_Lifted me up when I couldn't reach  
You gave me faith 'coz you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me  
_

_You gave me wings and made me fly  
You touched my hand I could touch the sky  
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me  
You said no star was out of reach  
You stood by me and I stood tall  
I had your love I had it all  
_

_I'm grateful for each day you gave me  
Maybe I don't know that much  
But I know this much is true  
I was blessed because I was loved by you_

_I am grateful for the day  
I began to Let You In_


End file.
